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MONASTICON. 


GLASGOW  : 
HAY  NISBET,   PRINTER,   TRONGATE. 


Monastic  on: 


AN  ACCOUNT 


(BASED  ON'SPOTTISWOODE'S) 


OF  ALL  THE 


Churches,  mt\ 


IN   SCOTLAND, 


[FO  H  M  AT  ION 


BY 


REV.   J.   F.    S.    GOEDON,   D.D., 

ST.  ANDREW'S,  GLASGOW. 


Bolumc  i. 


GLASGOW:    JOHN    TWEED.      MDCCCLXVIII. 


'•I  am  certainly  informed  that  Mr.  Spottiswood,  of  Spottiswood,  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Kelso,  and  Parish  of  Westrutlier,  has  in  MS.  the 
fullest  Account  of  all  the  Eeligious  Houses  in  Scotland,  their  Lands  and 
Revenues,  that  is  anywhere  to  be  found;  and  that  his  son,  Mr.  John  Spottis- 
wood, Solicitor  of  Law  in  London,  has  been  offering  the  MS.,  3  vols.  folio, 
to  sale."  [Letter  to  Gen.  Hutton  from  Jo.  Scotland,  Linlithgowt  June  8th, 
1790.  Penney  s  Linlitltyoicshire,  p.  211.] 


MONASTIC  ON. 


MONASTICISM  played  a  great  part  in  the  world  for  upwards  of  a  thousand 
years.  It  was  a  chief  Agent  in  changing  the  Social  and  Political  aspects  of 
great  Empires.  It  elevated  some  of  the  lowest  strata  of  society,  and 
depressed  some  of  the  highest.  It  moulded,  controlled,  and  overturned 
Governments.  But,  in  the  course  of  that  stormy  millennium,  it  underwent 
changes  as  extensive  as  those  which  it  imposed.  Monks  were  not  always 
peacemakers:  even  the  same  Convent  at  the  same  time  sheltered  Monks 
who  were  in  fierce  controversy  as  to  what  a  Monk  ought  to  be  and  do.  The 
Monkish  garb,  like  any  other,  clothed  simultaneously  some  of  the  noblest 
and  some  of  the  meanest  spirits  that  have  ever  dwelt  on  earth.  In  those 
"  Dark  Ages,"  albeit  amid  the  flood-tide  of  barbaric  invasion,  it  was  within 
Monastic  walls  that  BIBLES  were  transcribed  by  "  Monkish  "  hands,  and  the 
best  Productions  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Church  were  preserved  in  "  Monkish" 
Libraries — whose  Catalogues  have  come  down  to  us;  and  which  are  not  only 
multifarious  but  astounding,  when  we  think  that  the  slow  process  of  writing 
was  the  only  means  of  preserving  the  labours  of  an  Author.  The  Illumina- 
tions  which  embellish  the  Books  used  for  Divine  Homage,  make  the  eyes  of 
the  Artist  to  sparkle  at  their  rich  colours,  designs,  and  sublimity — fresh  as 
yesterday. 

The  "  Venerable  Bede "  was  no  contemptible  Historian  nor  Geo- 
metrician :  his  Commentator,  Bridferth,  a  Monk  of  Kamsey,  was,  pro- 
bably, as  great  a  Mathematician  as  any  of  the  present  Age.  Boger  Bacon 
exhibits  an  acquaintance  not  only  with  the  Mathematicians  but  with  the 
Philosophers  of  Arabia  and  of  Mahommedan  Spain,  which  no  man  in 
Europe  during  the  last  three  Centuries  has  possessed ; — and  every  Scholar 
may  be  appealed  to  whether  Treatises  on  these  Sciences  display  ordinary  or 

VOL.    I.  A 


2  MONKS  SKILFUL  AECHITECTS. 

borrowed  Knowledge,  in  these  far-back  times.  That  Metaphysics  were 
never  more  profoundly  cultivated  than  in  the  Thirteenth  and  Fourteenth 
Centuries  must  be  admitted  by  all  who  know  anything  of  Albertus  Magnus, 
Thomas  Aquinas,  Alexander  Hales,  Eoger  Bacon,  &c.  Anselm,  a  Century 
before  Albertus,  was  as  eminent  in  this  Science  as  he  was  in  Moral 
Philosophy ;  and  our  Libraries  contain  numerous  MSS.,  the  subjects  of 
which  evince  a  Metaphysical  capacity  unequalled  in  the  present  day. 

All  that  can  be  here  done  to  indicate  the  services  rendered  by  Monastic 
Institutions  to  Literature  and  Civilization,  must  be  fragmentary,  for  the 
ramifications  are  numerous.  The  several  Orders  possessed  men  who  were 
Geniuses  in  Architecture:  even  the  ruined  Kuins  of  the  hallowed  Fanes,  which 
adorn  our  landscapes,  indisputably  settle  this.  They  were  the  greatest  Koad 
and  Bridge-Makers  for  many  an  era ;  for,  while  lawless  Barons  and  warlike 
Feudal  Chiefs  found  their  safety  and  glory  in  inaccessible  mountain 
Fortresses  and  dangerous  impassable  Footpaths,  it  was  to  the  interest  and 
ingenuity  of  the  Monks  that  the  Faithful  were  enabled  to  repair,  without 
impediment,  to  their  Abbeys  and  Churches,  the  Shrines  of  which,  as  an 
Article  of  Faith,  had  to  be  venerated,  and  the  various  Ecclesiastical  duties 
to  be  discharged  in  the  Place  and  Spot  where  God  had  chosen  for  the 
assembly  of  His  Worshippers.  Many  of  these  "  Monkish  "  Bridges,  having 
survived  the  Eeligion  (as  a  National  Faith)  of  their  founders,  and  the  Cells 
and  Cloisters  of  the  glorious  Abbeys  of  those  who  built  them,  at  the  present 
day  facilitate  the  friendly  intercourse  of  man  with  man;  and  the  interchange 
of  cattle,  produce,  and  "  goods"  sufficiently  attest  the  taste  and  talents  of 
the  Religious  who  drew  the  working-plans  for  every  key-stone,  arch,  and 
buttress.  And  now,  while  we  reap  the  rich  harvest  of  sacrifice  and 
devotion  which  animated  the  Benevolence,  and  drew  forth  those  Alms  of  the 
Faithful,  which  render  them  Photographs  of  the  past  and  National  Heir- 
looms, the  stable  Buins  dotted  all  over  our  Land  still  lift  up  their  heads 
as  surviving  incorruptible  witnesses  of  the  spirit  of  veneration,  and  desire 
of  the  builders  to  glorify  the  Eternal  upon  Earth.  In  the  obscurest 
corners,  in  the  corbels  of  the  darkest  newel,  and  on  the  summit  of  the 
loftiest  spire,  where  access  is  scarcely  possible,  there  are  yet  displayed  as 
much  care  and  finish  as  the  noblest  features  open  to  the  eyes  of  admiring 
and  criticising  tourists. 

Like  the  history  of  much  else  in  which  there  is  an  admixture  of  the  human 
with  the  Divine,  the  history  of  Monachism  is  a  perpetual  see-saw  of  fall  and 
recovery,— of  corruption  and  reform.  In  its  early  days,  the  Cloister  was 
often  the  sole  refuge  of  the  godly  and  contemplative  from  the  tyranny  of 


THEIR  EMPLOYMENTS  AND  LIVES.  8 

Barbarism  unrestrained  by  law,  and  of  crime  unchecked  by  fear.  For  a 
time,  almost  every  man  who  was  neither  Monk  nor  Serf,  was  a  wild  beast, 
differing  from  other  wild  beasts  by  being  two-legged.  In  that  Solitude,  the 
increasing  "Worship  of  God  led  men  to  ponder  on  me  Unseen,  as  well  as  on 
the  seen  from  which  they  fled.  But,  in  process  of  time,  not  a  few  of  the 
crimes  and  vices  which  Monks  of  one  generation  had  fought  against  in  the 
world,  the  Monks  of  another  generation  had  sheltered  and  fostered  in  the 
Cloister.  In  the  vigorous  words  of  Bishop  Aungerville  (addressd  to  the 
Friars  of  his  day),  "  There  used  to  be  an  anxious  and  reverential  devotion 
in  the  culture  of  books,  .  .  .  and  the  Clergy  delighted  in  communing 
with  them  as  their  whole  wealth  ;  for  many  wrote  them  out  with  their  own 
hands  in  the  intervals  of  the  Canonical  Hours,  and  gave  up  the  time 
appointed  for  bodily  rest  to  the  fabrication  of  volumes, — those  sacred 
treasuries  of  whose  labours,  filled  with  cherubic  Letters,  are  at  this  day 
resplendent  in  most  Monasteries,  to  give  the  knowledge  of  Salvation  to 
Students,  and  a  delectable  light  to  the  paths  of  the  Laity.  .  .  .  But 
now  (we  say  it  with  sorrow)  base  Thersites  handles  the  arms  of  Achilles ; 
the  choicest  trappings  are  thrown  away  upon  lazy  asses  ;  blinking  night- 
birds  lord  it  in  the  nest  of  eagles ;  and  the  silly  kite  sits  on  the  perch  of 
the  hawk.  Liber  Bacchus  is  respected,  and  passes  daily  and  nightly  into 
the  belly ;  Liber  Codex  is  rejected  .  .  .  out  of  reach.  Flocks  and 
fleeces,  crops  and  barns,  gardens  and  olive-yards,  drink  and  cups,  are  now 
the  lessons  and  studies  of  Monks,  except  of  some  chosen  few,  in  whom  not 
the  image,  but  a  slight  vestige,  of  their  forefathers  remains." 

These  earnest  reproofs  were  written  in  1334,  little  more  than  a 
Centtiry  after  the  awakening  trumpet-notes  of  Francis  of  Assisi  had  been 
sounded  in  the  ears  of  all  men,  and  especially  of  Monks,  with  results  so 
memorable.  [Pkilobiblon,  c.  v.,  pp.  33-34.] 

At  the  dissolution  and  suppression  of  Monasteries  in  1535-9,  the  appro- 
priation of  the  spoil  was  often  as  reckless  and  profligate  as  the  Statutes  and 
methods  of  acquiring  it  had  been  unscrupulous.  The  examples  set  by  the 
"  visitors  "  and  "  commissioners  "  were  followed  by  the  rabble.  Ample 
proofs  of  ample  bribes  exist  in  Correspondence,  without  any  attempt  to  veil 
or  varnish  agents  or  acts.  By  the  demolition  of  the  smaller  Monasteries 
alone  in  England  (according  to  Fuller's  Church  History,  Edit,  by  Xicholls, 
vol.  ii.,  i>p.  211-50)  a  clear  Kevenue  of  £30,000  per  annum  was  advanced  to 
the  Crown,  besides  £10,000  in  plate  and  moveables.  Indeed,  King  Henry 
VIII.,  beside  his  own  disposition  to  munificence  won  by  sacrilegious  theft, 
was  doubly  concerned  to  be  bountiful  therein ; — first,  in  honour, — for  seeing 


4  SEIZURE  AND  SACRILEGE. 

the  Parliament  with  one  breath  had  blown  so  much  profit  unto  him,  it  was 
fitting  that  some,  especially  the  principal  advisers  of  the  business,  should, 
with  Ruth,  glean  among  the  sheaves  ;  secondly,  in  policy,— for,  as  he  took 
the  greater  flowers  to  garnish  his  own  Crown,  so  he  bestowed  the  lesser  buds 
to  beautify  the  Cornets  of  his  Courtiers,  who  knelt  when  he  knelt,  and  bowed 
when  he  winked. 

The  fourfold  disposal  of  the  Monastic  Lands  and  Revenues,  Fuller 
proceeds  to  explain  as  being  (1)  by  free  gift ;  (2)  by  play  or  gambling  ; 
(8)  by  exchange;  (4)  by  sale  "at  such  bargains  wherein  rich  meadow 
was  sold  for  barren  heath,  great  oaks  for  fuel,  and  farms  for  revenue 
passed  for  cottages  in  reputation."  Of  all  these  methods,  he  cites 
particular  examples.  Even  Antipapal  Jno.  Bale  (afterwards  Bishop  of 
Ossory),  addressing  himself  to  Edward  VI.,  in  1549,  writes  :— "  Avarice 
was  the  other  dispatcher  which  hath  made  an  end  both  of  our  Libraries  and 
Books,  to  the  no  small  decay  of  the  Commonwealth.  A  great  number  of 
them  which  purchased  those  superstitious  mansions,  reserved  of  those 
Library  Books  some  to  scour  the  candlesticks,  and  some  to  rub  their  boots  ; 
some  they  sold  to  the  grocers  and  soap-sellers ;  and  some  they  sent  over 
the  sea  to  the  bookbinders,  not  in  small  numbers,  but,  at  times,  whole  ship- 
fulls,  to  the  wondering  of  the  foreign  nations.  Yea,  the  Universities  of  this 
realm  are  not  all  clear  in  this  detestable  fact ;  but  cursed  is  that  belly  which 
seeketh  to  be  fed  with  so  ungodly  gains,  and  so  deeply  shameth  his  natural 
Country.  I  know  a  merchant-man  (which  shall  at  this  time  be  nameless) 
that  bought  the  contents  of  two  noble  Libraries  for  Forty  Shillings'  price — 
a  shame  it  is  to  be  spoken.  This  stuff  hath  he  occupied  in  the  stead  of  grey 
paper  by  the  space  of  more  than  these  ten  years,  and  yet  he  has  store  enough 
for  as  many  years  to  come." 

Fuller  quotes  a  portion  of  this  Lamentation  of  the  Reforming 
Bishop,  and  apostrophises  in  his  quaint  way :  "  The  covers  of  books, 
with  curious  brass  bosses  and  clasps,  intended  to  protect,  proved  to  betray 
them,  being  the  baits  of  covetousness.  And  so,  many  excellent  Authors, 
stripped  out  of  their  cases,  were  left  naked,  to  be  buried  or  thrown 
away.  What  soul  can  be  so  frozen  as  not  to  melt  into  anger  hereat? 
What  heart,  having  the  least  spark  of  ingenuity,  is  not  hot  at  this  indignity 
offered  to  literature  ?  I  deny  not  but  that  in  this  heap  of  books  there  was 
much  rubbish  ;  legions  of  lying  Legends,  good  for  nothing  but  fuel ;  volumes 
full  fraught  with  superstition,  which,  notwithstanding,  might  be  useful  to 
learned  men,— except  any  will  deny  apothecaries  the  privilege  of  keeping 
poison  in  their  shops,  when  they  can  make  antidotes  of  them.  But,  beside 


BAD  CONSEQUENCES.  5 

these,  what  beautiful  Bibles,  rare  Fathers,  subtile  Schoolmen,  useful 
Historians — ancient,  middle,  modern ;  what  painsful  Comments  were  here 
among  them  !  What  monuments  of  Mathematics  all  massacred  together ; 
seeing  every  book  with  a  cross  was  condemned  for  Popery, — with  circles,  for 
conjuring!  Yea,  I  may  say  that  then  holy  Divinity  was  profaned,  Physic 
hurt,  and  a  trespass,  yea,  a  riot,  committed  on  Law  itself.  And,  more 
particularly,  the  History  of  former  times  then  and  there  received  a  dangerous 
wound,  whereof  it  halts  at  this  day,  and,  without  hope  of  a  perfect  cure, 
must  go  a  cripple  to  the  grave." 

Thus  fell  the  old  famous  Monasteries  of  our  Kingdom,  leaving,  in  the  eyes 
and  thoughts  of  many,  nothing  behind  save  dull  Chronicles  and  tottering 
Ruins.  By  more  patient  Inquirers,  however,  it  will  always  be  borne  in 
mind  that,  amid  those  dilapidations,  good  and  great  men  fought  a  gallant 
and  life-long  fight  amongst  their  worst  enemies  and  ours ;  that  true  captains 
of  men  lived  and  died  there,  who,  after  many  a  hard  struggle,  won  enduring 
victories  against  brutish  violence  and  emasculating  ignorance. 

Now,  in  Scotland,  in  not  one  of  its  few  remaining  Abbey  Towers  exists 
there  a  single  Peal  of  Bells,  whence  the  passer-by  may  listen  to  sweet  Chimes 
or  solemn  Dirges,  although  he  may  call  to  memory  that,  on  the  selfsame 
spot,  "  Bells  Consecrated  "  tolled  to  Prayer,  hundreds  of  years  ago — the  very 
clappers  of  which  were  stolen  for  greed.  Under  the  shade  of  those  Towers, 
Schools  were  formed,  industry  was  taught  by  example,  the  Holy  Eites  and 
happy  Festivals  of  the  Christian  Church  were  regularly  kept ;  and,  from 
their  Battlements,  did  the  Monks  look  down  on  many  a  bloody  Fight,  in 
which  Kings  were  dethroned  and  Dynasties  were  changed.  But  from  the 
adjacent  Church  the  same  voice  of  Petition  and  of  Praise  rose  at  the  same 
Hours,  day  and  night,  century  after  century.  The  continual  Offering  up  of 
the  Blessed  Sacrament  of  the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ  ever  set  forth  before 
the  eye  of  simple  adoring  Faith  the  atoning  Sacrifice  of  the  Crucified.  Nor  will 
the  reflection  be  a  useless  one,  which,  on  such  a  Spot,  may  well  cross  the 
mind  almost  with  the  force  of  a  Revelation,  that,  even  for  us  of  the  Nine- 
teenth Century,  in  yon  lonely  valley,  what  was  there  quietly  thought  and 
unassumingly  done  by  self-denying  and  much-contemned  Priests,  is,  at  the 
present  day,  of  more  momentous  concern  far,  and  has  more  to  do  with  every 
thing  that  makes  it  life  to  live,  than  all  the  great  Inventions — the  Steam- 
Engines,  and  Weaving  Looms,  Whistling  Railway  Locomotives,  and  Reap- 
ing Machines,  and  all  our  great  Gold  Discoveries.  [See  an  excellent  Book 
— Edwards'  Memoirs  of  the  Libraries  of  the  Middle  Ages.] 

We  cannot  but  be  struck  with  the  progress  that  has  been  made  of  late 


G  STRONG  PREJUDICES. 

years  in  breaking  down  certain  old  and  bigotted  Prejudices.  The  history  of 
those  Prejudices  would  form  a  curious  Chapter  in  the  Annals  of  human 
folly  and  error.  Before  the  Reformation,  of  course,  Conventual  Establish- 
ments had  their  foes.  Their  wealth  stirred  up  the  envy  of  some  ;  the  power 
they  occasionally  conferred  on  men  of  humble  birth,  excited  the  jealousy  of 
others  ;  and  the  cases  of  scandal  that  were  no  doubt  often  occurring,  called 
forth  the  indignation  of  all.  Monks  and  Nuns  were,  in  fact,  liable  in  tiie 
Middle  Ages  to  exactly  the  same  sort  of  comments  and  puns  ,as  the  Clergy  now- 
a-days  experience  at  the  hands  of  those  who  recognise  no  Pastoral  oversight 
nor  Priestly  admonition,  and  from  the  half-educated  Editors  of  Newspapers 
and  Magazines,  who  are  necessitated  to  pander  to  the  tastes  of  those  who  read 
and  buy  their  off-hand  scribblings.  But  the  ill-feeling  they  provoked  was 
only  partial  and  transient,  till  the  astute  but  wicked  policy  of  Henry  VIII. 
created  the  great  Larceny  interest— that  large  body  of  the  upper  and  middle 
classes  whose  "  godly  zeal "  against  Monasticism  was  fed,  in  a  greater  or 
less  degree,  by  a  share  in  its  spoils.  Then,  as  the  remembrance  of  what 
Religious  Houses  really  had  been,  faded  out  of  the  public  mind,  its  place 
was  occupied  by  a  phantom  compacted  of  every  lie  that  sheer  malice, 
polemical  ingenuity,  gross  ignorance,  or  morbid  fancy  could  suggest. 

.  So  strong  is  Prejudice,  that  a  Monk  is  pretty  generally  supposed  to 
have  been  fat,  lazy,  sensual,  and  ignorant.  The  popular  voice  supplies 
him  with  a  plentiful  provision  of  the  good  things  of  this  Me,  upon  which  he 
battened  in  his  Cell  like  a  hog  in  his  stye — his  sole  occupation  being  to  recite 
his  Breviary,  which  he  could  rarely  translate  or  even  read  with  decent 
accuracy.  In  rare  instances  he  was  of  a  different  type — he  was  ascetic  and 
intellectual ;  but  in  this  case  he  devoted  all  his  energies  to  dark  and 
'mysterious  plots  in  favour  of  his  Order.  Monk  and  Friar  hated  enlighten- 
ment, which  they  instinctively  felt  would  be  fatal  to  their  Craft.  So,  they 
took  possession  of  learning,  and  imprisoned  it  in  the  Cloister;  and  with 
invitee  prepense  they  delayed  for  hundreds  of  years  the  invention  of  Printing. 
When  at  last,  in  spite  of  them,  Books  began  to  circulate,  they  added 
the  ferocity  of  tigers  to  their  other  amiable  qualities,  and  they  persecuted  to 
the  death  every  one  that  dared  to  dream  of  striking  off  the  fetters  from  the 
human  mind.  Such  is  the  belief  of  those  who  love  ivy-mantled  Abbeys, 
but  who  detest  those  who  once  were  their  inmates. 

This  notion  of  Monachism  served  its  purpose  d  mcrveilh  till  modern 
inquisitiveness  took  to  investigating  the  ways  and  works  of  our  forefathers. 
Then  it  crumbled  beneath  the  touch.  Monks  were  discovered  to  be  the 
Evangelizers  of  every  Country  in  the  world  that  has  received  the  Faith; 


COMMUNITIES  KEQUISITE  NOW.  7 

they  were  the  pioneers  of  Civilization  and  the  nursing  Fathers  of  the  Arts ; 
they  taught  savage  wildernesses  to  blossom  as  the  rose,  and  tamed  the  yet 
more  savage  hordes  that  had  once  made  them  hideous.  The  Cloister,  so  far 
from  being  a  Bastile  in  which  human  learning  was  secluded  from  the 
world,  was  found  to  be  a  Fortress  which  rolled  back  the  tide  of  Barbarism. 
Whatever  Political  power  and  influence  the  Monks  exercised,  was  better 
placed  in  their  hands  than  it  would  have  been  in  any  others,  during  the 
"Dark  Ages."  Monasticism  was  too  strong  even  for  iron-handed  but  wooden- 
headed  Chiefs  to  combat,  while  strong-hearted  Barons  often  quailed  at  the 
ban  of  the  Priest ;  and  it  is  to  it,  perhaps,  more  than  anything  else,  that 
we  really  owe  those  triumphs  of  Civil  and  Eeligious  Liberty  which  we 
imagine  to  be  the  product  of  our  own  days. 

Old  hypotheses  having  signally  failed,  new  ones  have  been  invented, 
which  are  even  still  less  supported  by  facts.  They  are  to  the  effect  that, 
while  Monasticism  was  everything  that  was  admirable  to  a  certain  point,  it 
at  length  accomplished  the  work  which  was  given  it  to  do  ;  it  then  corrupted 
its  ways ;  and  its  ultimate  extinction  was  as  great  a  benefit  to  the  com- 
munity as  its  rise  had  been.  The  fact  is,  that  there  never  was  a  time  so 
early  in  the  History  of  the  Eeligious  Orders  that  they  did  not  exhibit  their 
characteristic  Vices,  or  so  late  that  they  did  not  display  their  characteristic 
Virtues.  Monasticism  has  fared,  in  short,  very  much  like  Christianity  itself. 
Whenever  its  Profession  involved  the  certainty,  or  in  any  high  degree  the 
probability,  of  Self- Sacrifice,  no  one  sought  it  but  men  of  earnest  and  devout 
minds  ;  and  then  its  career  was  resplendent  with  glory.  When  it  conferred 
honours  and  respectability,  it  was  embraced  by  a  certain  proportion  of 
Brethren  who  had  neither  Vocation  nor  sincere  Piety;  and  then  it  grew 
feeble  and  secular.  But  it  was  never  deserted  by  the  Grace  of  God,  and  its 
Archives  teem  with  more  or  less  successful  Keforms.  At  the  worst,  it  must 
have  been  a  boon  to  the  Country.  It  was  proverbially  far  better  to  hold 
under  the  Crozier  than  under  the  Sword. 

The  faults  of  Monasticism  had  nothing  peculiar  in  them ;  they  still  exist 
among  the  Clergy  or  yuan- Clergy  of  all  Denominations.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Virtues  of  the  Conventual  Life  are  its  own ;  and  they  are  Virtues 
which  we  of  the  Nineteenth  Century  cannot  afford  to  dispense  with. 
To  go  on  potthering  at  the  Heathenism  of  our  large  Towns  with  our  present 
Modes  and  Systems,  is  proved  a  powerless  Tekel.  Communities  of  men 
and  women  who  ask  for  nothing  but  bare  food  and  raiment,  looking  for 
their  reward  in  Heaven,  are,  we  believe,  the  real  auxiliaries  who  are  certain 
speedily  to  make  an  impression  upon  the  weltering  mass  of  vice  and  sin. 


8  SEVEN  HOUES  OF  PEAYEE. 

If  Monasteries  had  been  Eeformed  (as  all  Institutions  occasionally  need 
to  be),  instead  of  having  been  swept  away,  we  should  not  have  had  to 
bewail,  with  sorrow  and  indignation,  the  venerable  Mementoes  scattered  over 
our  Historic  country — the  hallowed  Monuments  of  Works  of  Mercy  over- 
thrown by  infuriated  violence.  Abuses  are  so  far  from  being  necessarily 
incorporated  with  the  Monastic  System,  that  they  are  most  strongly  opposed 
thereto ;  for,  a  Monastery  is  a  Society  connected  by  the  bonds  of  strict 
Obedience  to  certain  Eules,  and  has,  as  its  primary  object,  the  physical, 
moral,  and  Eeligious  improvement  of  mankind.  It  should  also  be  borne 
in  mind,  that  the  EEFOKMATION  proposed  to  retain  and  to  restore  the  old 
Faith  and  Practice, — both  which  encouraged  and  gloried  in  the  magnificence 
and  splendour  of  Monastic  Foundations.  There  is  no  more  reason  to  expect 
corruption  in  Collegiate  Houses,  Convents,  Monasteries,  Nunneries,  or 
whatever  name  may  be  assumed,  than  there  is  to  anticipate  the  infectious 
transit  of  Beelzebub  into  any  of  our  Academies,  Boarding  Schools,  or 
Universities,  or  into  compounded  Congregations  at  large.  Indeed,  his 
aerial  Highness  will  also  be  there  anyhow,  either  by  himself,  invisibly,  or, 
visibly,  in  some  chosen  Proxy  or  Herd  well  qualified  to  do  his  business. 
Besides,  the  argument  which  is  derivable  from  past  abuses,  is  rather 
favourable  than  adverse  to  the  establishment  of  Monasteries ;  for  wariness 
and  circumspection  would  mark  the  conduct  of  those  who  were  conscious 
that  all  they  said  and  did  were  scrutinized  by  invidious  judges. 

The  various  offices  which  a  Monastic  System  would  require  its  inmates 
to  perform,  would  afford  a  suitable  training  for  the  Ministry  of  the  Church. 
The  want  of  proper  training  in  Parochial  duties  has  been  felt  by  every  one 
who  has  come  a  fresh  Greenhorn  from  the  University,  only  to  manifest  what 
he  is — a  mere  Novice  in  all  Pastoral  work ;  for,  as  matters  at  present  exist, 
the  Deacon  executes  the  Office  of  a  Priest,  and  the  man  is  made  to  go 
through  the  labours  of  the  woman.  Our  large  Towns  are  at  present  supplied 
with  three  or  four  over-burdened  Clergymen  attached  to  one  or  two 
Denominative  Congregations,  whose  footprints  are  very  soon  obliterated, 
through  exclusive  individual  selfishness.  It  requires  no  logic  to  prove 
that  "  many  hands  make  light  work." 

The  Canonical  Hours,  at  which  the  Monastic  Bell  regularly  summoned 
the  Monks,  were  Seven  in  number : — 

1st,   Prime,  about  6  A.M.  4th,  Xones,  from  2  to  3  P.M. 

2nd,  Tierce,  about  9  A.M.  5th,  Vespers,  about  4  P.M.,  or  later. 

3rd,  Sextt  about  Noon.  Cth,  Compline,  1  P.M. 

7th,  Mntim  and  Lauds,  about  Midnight. 


PET  ANIMALS.  9 

With  trifling  variations,  all  Monks  rose  to  Matins  and  Lauds,  and 
afterwards  returned  to  bed  till  Prime.  After  Prime,  an  assembly  of 
the  whole  body  in  a  particular  Koom  was  held,  to  say  Prayers 
for  deceased  Benefactors,  and  to  investigate  or  punish  misdemeanour  of 
offenders  by  discipline.  The  meeting  was  called  a  "  Chapter."  After  this, 
Silence  commenced.  The  Service  being  finished,  they  retired  to  the  Cloister 
• — in  some  Orders  to  study,  in  others  to  pursue  manual  labour  until  Sext. 

The  Monks  dined  at  12  precisely.  At  one  time,  no  doubt,  their  fare 
was  scanty  and  frugal,  but  this  gave  way,  in  the  course  of  time,  to  "  fat 
things  on  the  lees  well  refined."  While  Dinner  lasted,  they  kept  silence,  and 
listened  to  one  of  the  Brethren,  who  read  aloud.  After  Dinner,  some  time 
was  allowed  for  recreation,  which  usually  consisted  in  walking  about  their 
gardens  in  summer,  or  sitting  around  the  Eefectory  fire  in  bad  weather  or  in 
winter,  chatting,  telling  stories,  or  disputing. 

The  Monks  were  fond  of  keeping  Pet  Animals.  In  Monast.  Ang.,  vol.  i., 
2K  925,  mention  is  made  of  a  favourite  Crane,  who  was  taught  to  bend- its 
head  when  the  Abbot  passed,  and  at  Benediction  of  Meals;  also,  to  jump  on 
one  leg.  Crows  and  Magpies  were  also  trained  to  play  antics ;  and  they  not 
seldom  caused  Rows  by  having  the  Indulgence  of  Ubiquity,  and  Defiling 
what  had  been  but  a  short  time  before  "  swept  and  garnished."  Experience 
had  disciplined  these  Feathered  Householders  to  look  out  for  the  wrathful 
Salutes  of  the  several  Monastic  Subalterns,  for  their  sudden  trespasses.  S. 
Gregory  kept  a  gelded  Tom  Cat,  and  was  very  fond  of  him.  Ugutio  calls 
him  a  "  certain  ingenious  Animal,  viz.,  a  Mouse- catcher." 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  there  is  no  reference,  of  old,  to  Dogs  having 
been  kept  in  Monasteries.  They  naturally  take  a  deep  interest  in  human 
affairs ;  and  might  frequently  be  too  vociferous  towards  suspicious  characters 
and  uninvited  visitors ;  and  so,  the  Monks  would  rather  risk  the  advent  of 
burglars,  than  incessantly  to  have  to  cry  "  couch  "  to  the  faithful  conservative. 

An  hour  was  also  devoted  to  Chanting  or  Music,  in  the  Song 
School,  and,  this  being  over,  those  who  wished  to  go  beyond  the 
precincts  of  the  Monastery  were  required  to  kneel  before  the  Superior, 
kiss  the  hem  of  his  garment,  and  ask  his  permission,  which  was 
seldom  refused.  Those  who  remained  at  home,  retired  to  their  Cells  to 
read,  write,  or  practise  some  manual  occupation  until  Vespers.  All  were 
required  to  be  within  doors  to  sing  Compline  before  Supper,  after  which  they 
withdrew  to  their  Dormitories,  and  were  in  bed  by  8  P.M.  Their  beds  con- 
sisted of  a  simply  contrived  mattress,  usually  stuffed  with  straw,  chaff,  or 
leaves,  with  a  coarse  coverlet,  but  no  sheets.  At  midnight,  all  were  called 

VOL.    I.  B 


10  FOUK  OBDEKS  OF  INMATES. 

up  to  Matins  and  Lauds,  by  Lay  Brethren  appointed  for  the  purpose.  This 
interruption  of  sleep  was  apparently  a  hardship ;  but  their  regular  manner 
of  living,  together  with  the  absence  of  excitement  and  anxiety  about  worldly 
business,  caused  them  to  appear  florid  and  robust,  which  the  outward  world 
attributed  to  over-indulgence. 

They  were  not  permitted  to  speak  until  Prime  of  next  day  ;  and  they 
slept  in  part  of  their  clothes  in  separate  boarded  Divisions,  where  lights 
were  kept  burning  all  night.  They  fasted  on  Fridays.  Occasional  Indul- 
gences were  granted  to  them  in  the  form  of  donations— e.g.,  an  extra  portion 
of  food,  beer,  or  wine,  and  clothing  or  bedding,  beyond  the  rule,  which  were 
generally  served  out  in  a  place  or  Hall  called,  from  the  Indulgence,  "  Miseri- 
cord." The  sick  were  allowed  the  best  of  what  the  Monastery  possessed. 

The  Abbot  and  his  Chaplains  occupied  separate  lodgings,  with  a  distinct 
Establishment,  but  observed  the  Monastic  Eule.  The  Chaplains  were  per- 
petual spies  upon  the  conduct  of  the  Abbot. 

In  every  Monastery,  the  Inmates  were  divided  into  four  Orders,  viz.  :— 
Xwices,  Juniors,  Seniors,  and  Sempecttc.  Novices  or  Probationers  were  those 
who  had  entered  the  House,  but  had  not  taken  the  Vow.  They  usually 
"  professed"  about  the  age  of  sixteen.  Juniors  bore  all  the  burdens  of  the 
Choir,  Cloister,  and  Kefectory,  until  the  twenty-fourth  year.  During  the 
next  sixteen  years  they  were  exonerated  from  the  offices  of  Chantries, 
Epistle,  Gospel,  and  similar  duties,  but  undertook  the  labouring  business  of 
the  House.  Between  forty  and  fifty  years  of  age,  they  were  called  Seniors, 
and  were  relieved  from  the  duties  of  the  Cellar,  Almonry,  and  Kitchen.  In 
their  fiftieth  year,  they  became  Sempectcs,  and  lived  at  their  ease  in  the 
Infirmary,  with  a  lad  to  wait  upon  them,  and  a  Junior  for  a  companion. 

The  Dress  of  the  Monks  was  coarse,  the  chief  part  consisting  of  woollen 
stuff  manufactured  by  themselves.  The  colour  of  the  hood  and  tunic  (white 
or  black)  indicated  at  sight  the  Brotherhood  of  the  wearer.  In  general, 
they  wore  neither  linen  nor  stockings;  and  sandals,  with  boot-legs  and 
wooden  soles,  sufficed  for  shoes. 

Bonetti  represents  the  business  of  the  Confessional  as  often  tiresome, 
the  greater  number  of  the  Penitents  repeating  the  same  story  over  again. 

Particular  Officers  conducted  each  Department  in  Monastic  Establish- 
ments. The  description  which  follows  is  borrowed  from  the  acknowledged 
best  Authorities,  viz.,  Du  Cange's  Glossary  (a  noble  Encyclopedia  or 
Dictionary  in  Latin— in  10  thick  4to  Volumes— explanatory  of  every 
M.-diu»val  term),  and  British  Monachism,  by  Her.  Thos.  Dudley  Foslrooke,  pp. 
5GO,  4.to :  London,  1817.  This  latter  is,  in  many  parts,  an  Abridgment  of 


MONASTIC  OFFICERS.  11 

Du  Cancje.  Both  these  Standard  Works  are  rare  and  dear.  My  Correspon- 
dent, the  Rev.  Samuel  Fox,  Rector  of  Morley,  Derbyshire,  is  about  to 
Publish  a  new  Edition  of  his  "  Monks  and  Monasteries  ;  being  an  Account 
of  English  Monachism" — a  nice  little  handy  Book.  His  description  of  the 
various  Conventual  Officers  and  Buildings  are  taken  from  Fosbrooke.  There 
is  one  more  Authority  which  I  have  consulted,  now  very  scarce,  viz.,  "  A 
Short  History  of  Monastical  Orders,  in  which  the  Primitive  Institution  of 
Monks,  their  Tempers,  Habits,  Rules,  &c.,  are  treated  of.  By  Gabriel 
d'Emillianne.  London :  Printed  by  S.  Roycroft,.  for  Rob.  Clavell,  at  the 
Peacock  at  the  West  end  of  St.  Paul's.  1693." 

Under  the  covert  of  all  these  literary  Wings  I  take  shelter. 


MONASTIC    OFFICERS. 

ABBOT 

Is  a  Syrian  term  signifying  Father,  Abba,  and  was  anciently  applied  to 
all  Monks,  but  especially  to  those  who  were  venerable  for  age  or  peculiar 
sanctity ;  and  hence,  in  process  of  time,  it  was  restricted  in  its  application 
to  the  head  of  the  Establishment.  The  appointment  of  Abbot  was  usually 
considered  to  be  vested  in  the  King,  although  the  Benedictine  Rule  requires 
a  previous  Election  by  the  Monks;  and  the  power  and  authority  which  were 
thus  conferred,  were  very  great.  Sometimes  these  Elections  were  boisterous 
enough.  The  Office  of  Installation  was  grand.  All  were  to  do  him  obeisance 
as  he  passed.  His  Chaplains  preceded  him  with  lanterns.  They  were 
Physicians,  Illuminators,  and,  generally,  men  of  natural  gifts.  The  Abbot 
was  usually  styled  the  Lord  Abbot,  or  "By  Divine  Permission,"  or  "  By  the 
Grace  of  God,  Abbot,"  &c.  Besides  the  Parliamentary  honours  to  which 
certain  Abbots  were  entitled,  they  were  Sponsors  to  the  children  of  the 
Blood-Royal.  They  made  Knights,  at  one  time ;  they  conferred  the  lesser 
Orders ;  they  Consecrated  Churches  and  Cemeteries.  They  rode  with 
hawks  on  their  fists ;  and  bells  were  rung  when  they  came  to  visit  any  of 
their  Churches.  The  state  which  the  Abbots  maintained  during  the 
Thirteenth  and  Fourteenth  Centuries,  in  their  respective  Abbeys,  was  very 
great,  and  was  more  like  Regal  magnificence  than  the  daily  life  of  those  who 
had  professed  themselves  dead  to  the  world.  Their  secular  tenures  intro- 
duced them  into  a  variety  of  incongruous  offices,  such  as  going  to  war, 
discharging  the  duties  of  itinerant  Justices,  &c.  The  public  officiating  Dress 
of  an  Abbot  consisted  of  tiie  Episcopal  Ornaments.  The  great  duty  of  an 
Abbot  was  to  set  an  example  of  obedience  to  the  Rule  to  which  he  belonged. 
He  was  bound  to  attend  Divine  Service  daily  and  nightly  ;  to  look  after  the 
Buildings ;  to  see  that  due  order  was  kept ;  and  that  the  doors  were  locked 
and  the  keys  brought  to  him  every  night. 

Abbeys,  of  course,  were  of  varied  extent  and  arrangement,  according  to 


12  MONASTIC  OFFICERS. 

their  wealth  and  importance.  The  Mitred  Abbeys  were  the  most  eminent. 
Those  who  presided  over  them  having,  like  the  Bishops,  seats  in  Parlia- 
ment, by  virtue  of  the  Baronies  attached  to  their  stations.  The  larger 
Abbeys  usually  consisted  of  two  quadrangular  Courts  of  different  dimen- 
sions. The  north  side  of  the  principal  quadrangle  was  the  usual  site  of  the 
Abbey  Church;  and  on  the  other  sides  were  the  Refectory,  Almonry, 
Chapter  House,  Dormitory,  Locutory  or  Parlour,  Infirmary,  Library,  Scrip- 
torium, Guest  Hall  or  Hospitium,  Kitchen,  and  other  domestic  Offices. 
The  Abbot's  House  or  Lodging  commonly  formed  one  or  more  sides  of  the 
smaller  quadrangle,  and  consisted  of  a  complete  Mansion,  in  the  style  of  a 
large  Manor  House,  containing  a  Hall,  Kitchen,  and  frequently  a  Chapel. 
Chapels  are  distinguished  from  Churches,  in  having  Altars,  but  no  Bap- 
tisteries or  Fonts,  and  being  generally  subordinate  to  the  former. 

PRIOR. 

The  Prior's  Stall  was  at  the  entrance  of  the  Choir,  opposite  the 
Abbot's.  Whether  he  assisted  in  the  government  of  a  Monastery,  or 
whether  he  presided  over  a  Priory,  he  was  still  subordinate  to  the  Abbot ; 
because  all  Priories  were  subject  to  their  respective  Abbeys.  Consequently, 
the  Prior  was  a  sort  of  Vicegerent  of  the  Abbot,  being  invested  with  his 
authority  in  his  absence,  and  acknowledging  the  headship  of  the  Abbot 
whenever  he  chose  to  visit  the  Priory.  Those  Priors  who  resided  in  a 
Monastery  with  a  presiding  Abbot,  had  the  next  rank  to  him  in  the 
Choir,  Chapter,  and  Refectory;  and  were,  moreover,  provided  with  an 
apartment  for  themselves,  called  the  Prior's  Lodgings;  and  were  furnished 
with  horses  and  servants.  In  the  absence  of  the  Abbot,  the  Prior  was  to 
maintain  the  discipline  of  the  Abbey.  He  could  imprison  delinquents,  but 
he  could  not  expel  them  from  the  Society. 

The  office  of  Sub-Prior  in  Abbeys  was  much  the  same  as  that  of  the 
Prior  in  his  absence ;  the  Sub-Prior  being,  in  fact,  an  Assistant  to  him,  and 
his  Representative  whenever  he  was  not  present.  The  Sub-Prior's  Chamber 
was  over  the  Dormitory  door,  that  he  might  hear  if  any  stirred  or  went  out. 
Dean  was  the  old  appellation  of  Prior :  to  every  ten  Monks  there  was  a  Prior. 

PRECENTOR,    OR    CHANTER. 

This  office  was  next  in  rank  to  that  of  Abbot  and  Prior,  and  could  only 

ailed  by  a  Monk  who  had  been  educated  in  the  Monastery  from  a  child. 

t  was  his  duty  to  correct  all  mistakes  in  the  Choral  Service,  which  was 

entirely  at  his  disposal ;  to  distribute  the  Robes  at  Festivals ;  and  to  write 

out  the  Tables  of  Divine  Service  for  the  use  of  the  Monks,  as  the  Choral 

ervice  formed  a  principal  part  of  the  Divine  Offices.     His  place  was  in  the 

le  of  the  Choir,  and  on  the  right  side,  and  he  usually  commenced  the 

is  office,  however,  extended  to  other  matters  besides  the  direction 

d  lead  of  the  Choral  Service.     In  the  Processions  in  the  Monastery, 

ling  could  be  done  without  the  Precentor.      On  the  principal  Anniver- 

ies,  he   gave   directions  to  the   Cellarer  three   days  before   they   were 

ally  made  known.     At  the  decease  of  a  Monk,  his  name  was  registered 

ficer  in  the  Obituary.     The  Archives  were  under  his  care;  and,  in 

short,  he  was  the  Head-Librarian.     During  the  Service,  the  Precentor  held 

*  hand  u  kind  of  musical  instrument,  made  of  bone,  called  a  Tabula, 


MONASTIC  OFFICEKS.  13 

It  is  said  this  instrument  was  held  in  the  hand,  to  represent  literally  the 
expression  of  the  Psalmist,  "Praise  Him  with  the  Psaltery  and  Harp." 
(Psalm  cl.  3.)  It  is  also  said  that  the  Precentor  held  in  his  hand  a  Silver 
Staff  during  the  Service,  in  imitation  of  the  Staif  held  by  the  Israelites,  who 
travelled  to  their  own  country,  eating  the  Paschal  Lamb. 

CELLARER. 

This  Officer  was  entrusted  with  the  general  management  of  the  domestic 
affairs  of  the  Abbey  or  Priory.  He  had  the  care  of  everything  relating  to  the 
food  of  the  Monks,  as  well  as  the  vessels  of  the  Cellar,  Kitchen,  and 
Eefectory.  He  was  required  to  be  careful  of  the  healthy,  but  especially  of 
the  sick.  However,  he  was  not  allowed  to  do  any  thing  of  greater  moment 
without  the  advice  of  the  Abbot  or  Prior.  He  was  to  weigh  out  the  bread 
daily,  to  collect  the  spoons  after  dinner,  and  in  so  doing,  he  was  to  carry  the 
Abbot's  in  his  right  hand,  and  the  rest  in  his  left!  He  was  also  to  take 
care  that  no  one  sat  down  before  the  Abbot  or  Prior.  He  was  to  wait  upon 
Visitors  and  Monks  returning  from  journeys.  His  Chamber  was  in  the 
Dormitory. 

TREASURER,    OR    BURSAR. 

His  Exchequer  was  a  little  stone  house,  joining  upon  the  Coal-Garth 
(i.e.,  coal-yard,  fold,  or  enclosure),  pertaining  to  the  great  Kitchen,  a  little 
distant  from  the  Dean's  Hall  stairs.  His  office  was  to  receive  the  rents  of 
the  estates  belonging  to  the  House,  and  all  the  other  Officers  of  the  House 
gave  in  their  accounts  to  him.  He  discharged  all  the  servants'  wages,  and 
paid  all  the  expenses  and  sums  of  money  laid  out  upon  any  works 
appertaining  to  the  Abbey,  or  that  the  House  was  charged  withal.  His 
Chamber  was  in  the  Infirmary,  and  his  meat  was  served  from  the  great 
Kitchen  to  his  Exchequer.  [Davies.] 

SACRISTAN,  OR  SECRETARIUS. 

It  was  his  duty  to  uncover  the  Altar  after  the  Gospel ;  to  carry  a  lantern 
before  the  Priest  as  he  went  from  the  Altar  to  the  Lectern;  and  after  the 
Collect,  to  put  the  Text  upon  the  Altar,  and  either  to  ring  the  Bell,  or  cause 
others  to  do.  it.  He  had  the  care  of  all  the  Sacred  Vessels,  and  washed 
them  at  least  twice  a-week;  prepared  the  Host,  provided  the  Wine,  and 
furnished  Wafers  for  the  Communicants.  He  distributed  the  Candles  for 
the  Offices.  He  took  charge  of  all  the  Vestments,  Bells,  and  Banners. 
The  wastings  of  the  Chalices,  Corporals,  Ampulla,  &c.,  were  all  poured  into 
the  Piscina.  Every  night  he  was  to  lock  up  the  keys  of  every  Altar  in  the 
Church,  in  the  Almonry,  where  every  Monk  might  find  his  own  key,  and  go 
to  the  usual  Altar  at  which  he  was  to  say  Mass.  At  the  Procession  of  the 
Eogations,  lest  the  way  should  be  wet  or  dirty,  the  Sacristan  was  to  point 
out  the  way  to  the  Precentor,  and  the  Precentor  in  like  manner  was  to  point 
it  out  to  the  Chapter.  The  Sacristan  was  to  appoint  a  Sub- Sacristan,  who 
was  to  keep  the  keys  in  his  absence ;  and  to  see  that  there  was  no  negligence 
in  the  time  of  ringing  the  Bell.  The  Sacristan  and  Sub- Sacristan  were  to 
sleep  in  the  Church, — a  privilege  which  was  allowed  to  no  one  else,  without 
the  order  or  leave  of  the  Abbot  or  Prior.  The  Sacristan  was  to  take  care 


11  MONASTIC  OFFICEES. 

that  no  nettles  or  weeds  grew  in  the  Churchyard,  and  that  no  horse  or  other 
animal  frequented  it.  He  had  from  the  Granary  a  daily  allowance  for  his 
palfrey;  and  was  allowed,  as  well  as  his  Deputy,  a  Solatium  or  Companion. 
The  Sacristan's  Chamber  was  in  the  Dormitory  or  Dorter,  and  he  had  his 
meat  served  from  the  great  Kitchen. 


ALMONER. 


This  Officer  was  to  find  mats  in  the  Choir,  Chapter,  Cloister,  in  both 
Parlours,  and  upon  the  Dormitory  stairs.  He  was  to  find  the  necessaries 
for  the  Maundy;  and  at  the  Eogation  Processions,  two  of  his  servants  were 
to  stand  at  the  gate  of  the  House,  and  give  to  every  Monk  a  staff  made  of 
box  wood;  and  the  same  servants,  with  the  Porter  or  his  man,  were  to  go 
before  the  Procession,  that  they  might  remove  all  impediments,  and  prevent 
the  people  from  pressing  upon  them.  He  was  to  purchase  annually  at 
Christmas,  cloth  and  shoes  for  Widows,  Orphans,  and  especially  Clerks,  and 
for  those  whom  he  thought  to  stand  most  in  need.  He  was  not  allowed  to 
collect  any  thing  at  the  tables;  but  if  any  thing  were  handed  to  him,  he 
might  take  it,  and  devote  it  to  Alms.  After  dinner,  when  the  Monks  retired 
from  the  Kefectory,  he  was  permitted  to  go  round  the  tables,  and  to  devote 
to  Alms  the  drink  which  remained. 

COOK,    OR    KITCHENER. 

As  his  name  denotes,  this  official  presided  over  the  culinary  department 
of  the  Monastery.  He  had  assistants,  some  of  whom  cooked  for  the  Monks, 
and  others  for  the  rest  of  the  Household.  He  sat  at  meals  on  the  Prior's 
left  hand,  and  gave  the  license  to  the  Eeader,  as  well  as  that  of  Dining  and 
Drinking.  Another  part  of  his  office  was  to  visit  the  sick  every  morning,  to 
see  what  they  wanted,  and  to  supply  those  wants.  This  office  was  never 
conferred  on  any  but  such  as  had  made  the  art  their  study.  The  Cook 
often  got  a  nickname  or  contraction,  such  as  Bo,  Ank,  Cad,  &c. 
v 

INFIRMARER. 

He  had  the  care  of  the  sick,  and  had  a  particular  part  of  the.  Monastery 
appropriated  to  him  for  their  reception.  It  was  his  duty  to  administer  all 
their  meals,  and  to  sprinkle  Holy  Water  after  Compline  upon  their  beds, 
efore  Matins,  he  went  round  with  a  lantern  to  see  if  any  who  were  able  to 


7 ., J.M.UUV.I.IJ.   \j\j  ooo  JLi    ojJJ.V    VVI1U    \Y6r6   UD16    UO 

rise  remained  in  bed;  and  he  was  required  to  proclaim  all  negligences  to 
the  Chapter.  He  had  two  Brethren  to  assist  him  in  taking  care  of  the  sick. 
When  a  Monk  was  at  the  point  of  death,  he  had  warm  water  ready  for  the 
corpse.  He  had  the  charge  of  the  Bier.  The  Abbot,  with  the  consent  of 
Chapter,  was  to  appoint  such  a  person  Infirniarer  as  might  be  able,  in 
case  of  sudden  accident,  to  receive  the  Confession  of  the  sick 


PORTER. 


This  office  was  generally  committed  to  men  of  mature  age  and  un- 
blameable  life  He  only  entered  the  Kitchen,  Eefectory,  Infirmary  and 
Residence  of  the  Superior,  to  deliver  a  message  when  visitors  came  He 
always  slept  at  the  Gate,  and  had  a  horse,  tlrnt,  as  often  as  the  Cellarer 


MONASTIC  OFFICEES.  15 

and  Superior  wished,  he  might  attend  their  summons,  and  ride  with 
them.  He  was  allowed  the  service  of  a  boy,  who  took  the  key,  after 
Curfew,  to  the  Cellarer's  bed,  and  fetched  it  again  in  the  morning.  In 
some  accounts,  we  find  that,  as  soon  as  the  Bell  rang  for  Compline,  the 
Porter  locked  the  gates,  and  carried  the  keys  to  the  Abbot. 

REFECTIONER. 

He  was  to  take  care  that  the  cups  and  vessels  which  were  used  in  the 
Eefectory  were  kept  clean,  and  that  the  tables  were  wiped  daily.  He  was 
required,  out  of  his  revenues,  to  provide  cups,  pots,  tablecloths,  mats, 
basins,  double  cloths,  candlesticks,  towels,  and  salt-cellars.  He  was  to  find 
rushes  to  lay  on  the  floor  of  the  Eefectory  five  times  in  a  year.  When 
bread  was  placed  before  any  of  the  Monks  at  table,  he  was  to  distribute  the 
bread  and  cheese  with  his  own  hands.  If  the  Abbot  dined  in  the  Eefectory, 
he  was  required  to  cause  basins,  water,  and  a  towel  to  be  placed  in  the 
Lavatory  before  dinner;  and  in  the  same  manner  in  the  Eefectory  after 
dinner.  The  Eefectioner  received  the  wines  from  the  Abbot's  cellar  as 
often  as  it  was  to  be  distributed  in  the  Convent,  and  he  was  required  to 
measure  it,  if  necessary. 

CHAMBERLAIN. 

By  the  Decrees  of  Lanfranc,  he  was  to  find  everything  necessary  for  the 
clothes,  bedding,  cleanliness,  and  shaving  of  the  Monks.  He  was  to  find 
the  glass  for  making  and  mending  the  Dormitory  windows ;  shoeing  for  the 
horses;  gowns,  garters,  and  spurs  for  the  Monks'  travelling;  and,  once  a 
year,  to  have  the  Dormitory  swept,  and  the  straw  of  the  beds  changed. 
Three  times  in  the  year,  viz.,  at  Easter,  Christmas,  and  the  Nativity  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  he  was  required  to  provide  baths  for  the  refreshment  of 
Monks'  bodies.  At  the  Maundy  on  Holy  Thursday,  he  was,  with  the 
assistance  of  the  Almoner  and  Porter,  to  introduce  the  poor;  and  of  these, 
the  first  were  the  necessitous  parents  of  the  Monks,  and  afterwards  the 
Clerks  and  Pilgrims,  upon  each  of  which  he  bestowed  threepence.  Upon 
the  loss  of  a  knife  or  comb,  he  was  to  find  new  ones;  he  was  to  provide  the 
Novices  with  razors.  He  had  the  use  of  a  Tailor.  The  Monks  were  to  go 
to  the  baths  when  he  saw  it  necessary.  He  slept  in  the  Dorter. 

HOSPITALLER. 

He  received  strangers  and  the  wayfaring  poor,  and  provided  for  their 
entertainment  in  a  room  appropriated  for  them,  called  the  Hospice  or  Guest 
Chamber.  He  had  annually  the  best  of  the  old  shoes  for  the  visitors  who 
wanted  slippers.  If  strange  Clerks  wished  to  dine  in  the  Eefectory,  he  was 
to  notify  it  to  the  Abbot  or  Prior,  and,  upon  consent,  to  instruct  them  how 
to  do.  He  was  to  conduct  a  strange  Monk  through  the  Cloister  into  the 
Church  to  pray. 

HEBDOMARIES, 

That  is,  Weekly  Officers,  was  a  name  given  to  any  of  the  Monks  in 
waiting  at  table,  or  in  other  services,  which  they  performed  by  weekly  turns. 
Such  were  the  Eeaders,  who  stood  at  a  Desk  or  Lectern  in  the  Eefectory, 
and  read  while  the  others  were  feeding. 


16  MONASTIC  BUILDINGS. 

MONASTIC    BUILDINGS. 

Having  enumerated  the  principal  Monastic  Officers,  their  Habitations 
claim  our  next  consideration.  Their  remains  bear  ample  testimony  to  their 
ancient  grandeur,  and  to  the  munificent  piety  of  former  times. 

A  low  and  sheltered  site  was  usually  chosen  for  an  Abbey,  and  the 
facility  for  procuring  fish  had  no  small  influence  in  the  selection.  Although 
such  situations  do  not  appear  to  have  been  the  best  calculated  for  promoting 
health,  there  is  something  in  those  sequestered  spots  marking  the  former 
existence  of  an  Abbey,  which  harmonizes  with  a  devout  and  contemplative 
frame  of  mind;  and  it  is  not  taxing  our  imagination  too  much,  if  we  suppose 
that  this  feeling  operated  upon  our  forefathers,  and  led  them  to  found  their 
Abbeys  in  such  places  as  would  naturally  contribute  to  promote  the  end 
which  they  had  in  view.  The  builders  were  most  perfect  masters  of  their 
craft,  and  the  most  beautiful  of  our  modern  Ecclesiastical  Structures  are 
mainly  indebted  for  their  excellence  to  the  mouldering  remains  of  the  Middle 
Ages. 

In  many  of  our  Monastic  Euins,  we  meet  with  perfect  specimens  of  the 
solid,  but  not  inelegant,  Norman  Style;  in  others,  the  transition  to  the 
Early  English  is  exhibited ;  and  in  the  latest  Buildings,  the  Decorated 
Style,  with  its  chaste  and  flowing  ornaments,  prevailed.  As  far  as  Architec- 
tural taste  is  concerned,  none  of  the  preceding  Centuries  need  blush  on 
being  compared  with  the  Sixteenth. 

The  paramount  importance  of  the  Church  in  the  Monastic  economy, 
gives  that  Edifice  a  priority  of  claim,  in  detailing  the  different  Monastic 
Buildings. 

THE    CHURCH. 

As  the  High  Altar  represented  the  Church,  and  had  four  corners 
(because  the  Gospel  was  extended  through  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe), 
that  shall  be  first  considered.  Its  dimensions  are  thus  stated  by  Bishop 
Hakewill:  "  Allowing  them  an  Altar  of  three  foote  and  a  halfe  high,  and  a 
rising  to  it  from  the  lower  floore  of  a  foote  high ;  the  height  of  the  Altar 
from  the  lower  floore  will  be  foure  foote  and  a  halfe,  or  three  cubits,  which 
is  the  measure  required  in  the  Leviticall  Law,  and  differs  little  in  height 
from  the  Altars  in  forraine  parts,  or  those  which  are  yet  stanclinge  with  us, 
if  wee  likewise  take  their  height  from  the  lower  floore ;  which,  by  reason  of 
the  continued  and  easie  degrees  of  ascent  to  them,  may  not  unfitly  be 
counted  their  basis  or  foote."  The  authentic  mark  of  an  Altar  was  its  Five 
Crosses.  As  no  Altar  could  be  Consecrated  without  relics,  there  was  a 
small  Stone,  called  the  Sujillum  Altaris,  by  which  the  aperture  for  the 
insertion  of  the  relics  was  closed  up  by  mortar  tempered  in  Holy  Water. 
Du  Cange  says,  the  Horn  of  the  Altar  is  the  Side,  where  the  Epistle  and 


MONASTIC  BUILDINGS.  17 

Gospel  were  read.  Symmaclius,  Gregory  of  Tours,  and  others,  mention  the 
Ciborium,  an  arch  over  the  Altar,  supported  by  four  lofty  columns,  in 
imitation  of  the  Propitiatory,  which  covered  the  Ark.  It  was  sometimes 
Illuminated  and  adorned  with  Tapers.  Where  there  was  no  Ciborium,  a 
mere  Canopy  hung  over  the  Altar,  which  was  most  common;  a  fine 
Stone  Screen,  full  of  niches,  being  the  back  of  the  Altar,  from  which 
the  Canopy  projects.  Curtains,  called  the  Tetra-velum,  were  annexed,  and 
drawn  round,  that  the  Priest  might  not  be  confused  by  view  of  the 
spectators.  Under  this  Ciborium  or  Canopy,  hung  the  Piv,  or  Box,  contain- 
ing the  Host,  commonly  a  Dove  of  goldsmith's  work,  esteemed  so  sacred, 
that  upon  the  march  of  hostile  armies,  it  was  especially  prohibited  from 
theft ;  and  Henry  V.  delayed  his  Army  for  a  whole  day,  to  discover  the  thief 
who  had  stolen  one.  A  common  Altar-piece  was  a  Picture  of  the  General 
Judgment,  called  llappa  Muitdi,  and  the  Passion  of  Christ.  Over  the  Altai- 
was  put  the  Pallet,  carried  out  against  fires;  and  over  the  Pall,  the  Corporal, 
always  made  of  linen,  according  to  an  order  of  Pope  Sixtus,  A.D.  133.  The 
Antepcmlium  was  a  veil  which  hung  before,  as  the  Dorsal  behind.  At 
the  back  of  and  about  the  Altar  were  Perticcc.,  or  Beams,  ornamented  at  the 
great  Feasts  with  Reliquaries  of  ivory,  silver,  &c.  Besides  Sedilia,  were 
the  Stalls,  where  the  officiating  Ministers  retired,  during  parts  of  the  Service 
performed  by  the  Choir.  Du  Cange  says,  "  The  Sales  Mcijestatis  is  a  seat  by 
the  side  of  the  Altar,  in  which  the  Minister  about  to  Celebrate  sits,  while 
the  Kyrie,  Gloria,  and  Creed  are  sung ;  from  whence,  as  often  as  he  arose, 
the  Deacon,  removing  his  hood,  or  amess,  used  to  comb  his  hair;  although 
that  office  is  now  done  in  the  Vestiary,  before  he  comes  to  the  Altar." 

The  Altar- Plate  stood  upon  a  Side  Table  called  Credence,  Crcdcntia,  or 
Ministerium. 

Besides  these,  were  the  Aharia  Aniinaruin,  where  Masses  were  said  for 
the  Dead;  rarely  attended  but  by  the  Priest,  a  boy  to  assist  him,  and, 
perhaps,  a  relative  or  two  of  the  deceased. 

LECTERNS,  where  the  Epistle  and  Gospel  were  sung,  and  certain  Services 
of  the  Dead  performed.  Some  Lecterns  were  made  in  the  shape  of  an 
Eagle,  to  designate  S.  John  the  Evangelist.  The  Analogium  was  a  Beading 
Desk  of  Spanish  Metal,  cast,  over  which  hung  a  gilt  Eagle  with  expanded 
wings.  It  was  sometimes  taken  for  the  Martyrology,  or  Necrology,  because 
that  Book  was  always  laid  upon  it,  to  read  from  it  what  belonged  to  the 
Service  of  the  day. 

In  the  Choir  were  Candlesticks  called  Arlores  or  Trees,  with  many  lights 
rising  from  the  ground.  The  Statutes  of  Clugny  say,  "  On  the  above 
Festivals,  in  which  that  Iron  Machine  is  accustomed  to  be  lighted,  which  is 
commonly  called  Ezra,  because  it  was  illuminated  by  glass  lamps.  There 
were  also  pendent  Chandeliers,  called  Corona.  In  different  parts  of  the 
Church,  sometimes  in  front  of  the  High  Altar,  were  Hearses,  decorated  with 
palls,  tapers,  &c.,  in  memory  of  deceased  great  persons. 

The  Seats  of  those  who  sung  in  the  Choir,  consisted  of  two  parts: 
Antica  and  Posticfi.  In  the  Postica  were  the  Folding  Seats,  which  were 
raised  when  the  Singers  were  to  stand.  The  folding  part  afforded  a  kind  of 
seat,  called  a  Misericord.  The  part  Antica  made  a  leaning  stock,  upon  which 
they  reclined  when  the  Venia  was  to  be  sought.  For  though  Venia  was  a 
general  term  for  genuflexion,  prostration,  or  similar  gesture,  there  was  the 
greater  Metarur,  very  low  inclination  of  the  body ;  the  smaller  only  bending 
VOL.  i.  c 


18  MONASTIC  BUILDINGS. 

the  neck  and  head.  Tims  the  Oseney  Missal  says,  «  Let  them  raise  them- 
selves and  lift  their  seats,  and  lye  upon  the  forms,  saying  the  .Lord  s 
Prayer  "  To  understand  this,  it  is  necessary  to  observe,  that  the  beniors 
only  leaned  upon  the  forms;  the  Juniors  and  the  Boys  lay  prostrate  upon 
the  pavement  opposite  the  Stalls;  for,  to  be  raised  to  a  Forma  (the  word  for 
a  Stall)  was  a  promotion.  Kneeling  cushions  and  hassocks  were  common. 
The  Monks  bowed  at  the  Gloria  Patri,  except  at  the  Hours  of  the  Blessed 
Mary  and  sat  at  all  the  Psalms,  at  least  in  this  Service.  The  Stalls  were 
ornamented  with  Tapestry  on  Festivals;  and  the  whole  Church  hung  with 
black  on  Funerals  of  State ;  as  were  the  houses  of  the  deceased,  and  black 
Curtains  over  the  Pictures.  Over  the  body  was  put  a  black  Pall,  with 
Armorial  Escutcheons. 

The  Naves  of  Churches  were  not  always  paved,  hence  the  use  of  rushes, 
according  to  Cowell,  for  warmth  and  better  Kneeling.  Men  used  to  stand 
on  the  right  hand  or  South  side ;  women  on  the  left  or  North. 

ORGAN. — This  was  of  very  different  form  to  the  modern.  The  Organist 
was  one  of  the  Community.  We  hear  of  an  Archdeacon  playing  in  the 
Anglo-Saxon.  Wulstan,  in  his  Prologue  to  the  Life  of  S.  S  within,  mentions 
an  Organ  with  twelve  pairs  of  bellows  above,  fourteen  below,  four  hundred 
pipes,  and  seventy  strong  men  required  to  work  it.  In  the  Fourteenth 
Century  they  were  very  general  in  Abbeys ;  Davies  mentions  more  than  one 
in  a  Church. 

PISCINAS,  or  SINKS,  where  the  Priest  emptied  the  water  he  washed  his 
hands  in,  and  where  flies  (because  the  emblems  of  unclean  thoughts)  and 
other  deposits  in  the  Chalice — in  short,  all  Consecrated  waste  stuff  that 
could  be  so,  were  poured  out.  Du  Cange  calls  it  the  Font,  where  the  Priest 
washed  his  hands  before  he  performed  the  Sacred  Offices,  in  allusion  to  the 
Psalm,  "I  will  wash  my  hands  in  innocency,"  &c.  We  order,  says  an 
ancient  Synod,  a  Font  for  washing  the  hands  of  the  Celebrating  Priests, 
which  may  be  either  affixed  to  the  wall  or  Pensile,  and  furnish  water  with  a 
linen  pall.  Piscinas  are  sometimes  double;  sometimes  single. 

The  LAVATORY  is  also  called  the  Horn  of  the  Altar,  where  the  Priest 
washed  his  hands  in  the  Mass. 

LOCKERS,  or  small  Niches,  held  the  Ampullce,  or  Cruets  of  Mixed  Wine 
and  Water  for  the  Altar ;  and  of  Oil  for  Holy  Unction  and  Chrism. 

PENSILE  TABLES,  containing  Genealogies  of  buried  persons ;  number  of 
Pardons  granted  to  those  who  Prayed  for  the  Deceased;  Registers  of 
Miracles ;  Histories ;  and  duties  of  the  temporary  Priests. 

EXCUBITORIA,  or  apartments  for  persons  who  watched  the  whole  night. 
At  the  shutting  of  the  Church  doors,  the  custom  was  to  toll  the  greatest  of 
our  Lady's  Bells,  forty  tolls ;  and  after,  to  go  to  that  place  and  eat  and 
drink,  and  then  to  walk  round  and  search  the  Church. 

ROODLOFTS,  or  Galleries  across  the  Nave,  at  the  entrance  of  the  Chancel 
or  Choir,  where  were  the  Images  of  the  Crucifixion,  SS.  Mary  and  John, 
and  sometimes  rows  of  Saints,  on  either  side,  and  where  the  Musicians 
played,  ^  There  is  a  remarkable  similarity  in  the  style  of  Eoodlofts.  The 
Gallery  is  commonly  supported  by  a  cross  beam,  richly  carved  with  foliage, 
sometimes  superbly  built ;  and  underneath  runs  a  Screen  of  beautiful  open 
Tabernacle  work.  SS.  Mary  and  John  were  not  always  the  Images  which 


MONASTIC  BUILDINGS.  19 

accompanied  the   Crucifix;  for  we  find  the  four  Evangelists  substituted 
instead. 

CONFESSIONALS. — These  are  very  varied.  Some  are  large  Chairs;  others 
are  Stalls,  with  oblong  holes  cut  in  them;  others  are  arched  stone  Vaults, 
through  which  was  a  passage  from  the  Choir  to  a  Chapel,  formerly  very 
dark.  Here  the  people  stood,  the  Priest  being  within  the  Altar  Eails,  and 
the  voice  passing  through  a  wall  made  hollow  for  the  purpose. 

GALILEES,  where  the  Processions  ended;  places  or  peirs  aloft,  for  the 
Abbot's  family  to  view  Processions  from;  lines  cut  in  the  pavement  to  show 
the  room  to  be  kept  clear  for  Processions;  and  circular  stones,  to  mark 
where  each  should  take  his  stand  at  such  times.  In  the  Nave  of  the 
Church  of  York  are  small  circles,  engraved  on  the  pavement,  marking  each 
place  in  the  length  of  this  Nave,  which,  being  twelve  times  repeated,  make 
exactly  an  English  mile.  "  They  showed  us  twelve  holes  against  the  great 
door,  with  a  little  peg,  which  served  to  mark  the  miles,  to  any  one  chusing 
to  measure  them,  changing  every  time  this  peg  into  a  fresh  hole,  in  order 
not  to  misreckon."  [Antiquarian  Repository,  vol.  ii.,  p.  217.] 

LADY-CHAPELS,  or  RETRO-CHOIRS. — This  Chapel  was  so  called,  because, 
in  general,  dedicated  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary.  After  the  Reformation, 
it  was  often  given  to  the  scholars  of  Free  Schools  for  the  purpose  of  Morning 
Prayers,  &c. 

SAINTS'  BELLS,  the  use  of  which  was  this,  says  M.  Harding,  "We  have 
commonly  seen  the  Priest,  when  he  sped  him  to  say  his  Service,  ring  the 
Saunce  Bell,  and  speake  out  aloud,  Pater  Noster,  by  which  token  the  people 
were  commanded  silence,  reverence,  and  devotion."  According  to  Staveley, 
and  Warton  from  him,  it  was  rung  when  the  Priest  came  to  the  "  Holy, 
Holy,  Holy,  Lord  God  of  Sabaoth,  or  Trisagium,  in  order  that  all  persons 
without  might  fall  on  their  knees  in  reverence  of  the  Host,  then  elevated." 
They  then  bowed  the  head,  spread  or  elevated  the  hands,  and  said,  "  Salve 
Lux  Mundi,"  &c.,  Hail  Liylit  of  the  World,  &c.  Erasmus  says,  "No  person 
ever  passed  by  a  Church  or  Cross,  without  pulling  off  his  hat  or  bowing. 

TOWERS,  for  the  Juniors  to  learn  the  Church  Service  in. 

TRIFORIA,  or  upper  passages  and  ways  round  the  Church,  for  the  con- 
venience of  suspending  tapestry  and  similar  ornaments  on  Festivals. 

PULPITS,  which  generally  faced  the  West,  that  the  people's  faces,  in  all 
acts  of  devotion,  might  look  toward  the  East,  according  to  the  custom  of 
the  primitive  times;  the  change  to  the  South,  or  other  direction,  being  a 
reform  of  the  Puritans.  A  stand  for  an  Hour-glass  still  remains  in  many 
Pulpits. 

Davies  says,  "  Every  Sunday,  a  Sermon  was  Preached  in  the  Galiloy 
from  one  to  three  in  the  afternoon;  previous  to  which,  at  twelve,  the  great 
Bell  of  the  Galiley  tolled  three  quarters  of  an  hour,  and  rung  the  fourth 
quarter  till  one  o'clock,  that  the  people  might  have  warning  to  come  and 
hear  the  word  of  God  Preached."  The  Friars  also  Preached  there,  and  there 
were  Sermons  on  Saints'  Days,  and  other  Solemnities.  Some  of  these 
Sermons  were  very  strange  and  ridiculous,  as  the  following  Extracts  will 
show :  "  A  lark  is  a  bird  which  sings  a  song  proceeding  from  recollection  of 
the  benefits  of  God.  For  the  lark,  when  she  begins  to  mount,  lightly  sings 
Dewn,  Deum,  Deuin ;  when  she  comes  a  little  higher,  she  sings  many  times 


20  MONASTIC  BUILDINGS. 

7>,w;»,  many  times  Demn;  when  she  comes  highest  of  all,  she  sings  entirely 
7V,,M,  Thus  does  the  pious  soul  from  gratitude."  Similar  instances  are 
given' of  the  nightingale.  In  another  it  is  said,  that  in  these  two  things, 
the  Election  of  a  Monk,  and  keeping  his  Eule,  the  whole  of  Monastic 
discipline  consists;  and  is  like  a'great  joint  in  a  small  dish.  They  were 
also  enlivened  with  Stories  and  curious  Metaphors.  ;<  Moreover,  it  says, 
«  how  wholesome  is  the  obligation  of  profession,  you  may  by  a  short  story 
learn  A  father  had  a  sick  son,  who  could  not  be  cured  without  the  Imite 
and  cautery.  The  father  asks  the  lad,  whether  he  would  wish  to  be  bound? 
Anxious  for  his  health,  he  replies  tlmt  he  has  no  objection  to  be  bound  and 
burned.  Accordingly  he  is  so ;  but  no  sooner  does  he  feel  the  knife  and 
the  file  than  he  storms,  rages,  and  begs  to  be  loosed;  but  no,  says  the 
father,  not  till  you  are  healed.  In  the  same  manner  acts  the  Monk,  who 
has  willingly  and  knowingly  taken  the  Vows."  One  of  their  Metaphors  was 
this :  "You  have  seen  a  man  carrying  a  lighted  candle  in  the  open  air,  and 
guarding  it  with  his  hands  lest  it  should  be  blown  out."  The  Monk's  soul 
was  the° candle,  his  body  the  part  illuminated:  the  three  winds  liable  to 
blow  it  out  were  the  World,  the  Flesh,  and  the  Devil;  the  two  hands  that 
held  the  light,  were  Alms  and  Fasting.  A  Sermon  for  the  Nuns,  upon 
flowers  emitting  odour,  like  the  lily,  is  a  string  of  allegorical  puns. 
Another,  in  the  manner  of  the  old  Black-Letter  Story  of  the  "  Abbaye  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,"  originally  in  Latin  by  the  famous  B.  Alcock,  says,  the 
first  girl  is  Chastity,  the  second  Humility,  the  third  is  Mercy,  and  she  is 
Collaress,  which  provides  meat  and  drink ;  the  fourth  is  Modesty,  and^he  is 
mistress  of  the  Novices ;  the  fifth  is  the  Infirmaress,  and  she  is  Patience ; 
the  sixth  is  Obedience.  A  third  Discourse  has  the  following  climax:  "  And 
this  is  great,  greater,  greatest;  great,  to  abjure  and  scorn  the  world; 
greater,  to  rejoice  in  tribulation;  greatest,  to  pant  sweetly  after  God." 

ENCAUSTIC  PAVEMENTS  were  adopted,  as  an  embellishment  of  the  High 
Altar,  and  before  Shrines ;  at  first  exhibiting  Scriptural  Stories,  painted 
upon  glazed  bricks  and  tiles  of  an  irregular  shape,  fitted  together  as  the 
colour  suited;  and  upon  the  same  plan  as  the  stained  glass  in  windows. 
The  Arms  of  Founders  and  Benefactors  were  usually  inserted,  during  the 
Middle  Centuries,  after  the  Conquest  (though  doubtless  there  are  earlier 
instances),  when  many  of  the  greater  Abbeys  employed  kilns  for  preparing 
them :  from  which  the  Conventual  and  the  dependent  Parochial  Churches 
were  supplied.  Some  have  conjectured  that  the  Painted  Tiles  were  made  by 
Italian  artizans  settled  in  this  Country;  and,  it  has  been  thought,  that 
Monks,  having  acquired  the  art  of  painting  and  preparing  them  for  the  kiln, 
in  the  manner  of  porcelain,  amused  their  leisure  by  designing  and  finishing 
them.  The  use  of  these  Painted  Bricks  was  confined  to  Consecrated 
places,  almost  without  exception;  and  all  of  them  discovered  since  the 
Keformation  have  been  upon  the  sites  of  Convents,  preserved  either  in 
Churches  or  in  Houses. 

MONASTERIES  had  appendages  to  their  Churches  of  various  kinds. 

CLOISTERS  or  PIAZZAS,  i.e.,  covered  Arcades,  generally  quadrangles,  with 
a  jrreen  in  the  midst,  were  the  general  resort  of  the  Monks,  and  were  fur- 
niahed  with  ( brrefr,  or  pews  for  writing,  and  Lavatories.  The  Day  of  the 
Month  was  proclaimed  in  the  Cloister  every  morning  after  Prime. 

KEFECTORIES,  or  FRATERIES,  were  large  wainscotted  Refreshment  Halls, 


MONASTIC  BUILDINGS.  21 

which  communicated  with  the  Kitchen.  They  had  above  the  boards  a 
dresser,  almonries  or  cup-boards,  and  a  desk  for  reading  some  Legend  or 
Saint's  Life  during  dinner. 

CHAPTER-EOOMS,  supporting  the  Eoof  with  a  Stone  Pillar  in  the  centre, 
symbolic  of  Unity,  had  usually  rows  of  stone  benches  one  above  another,  a 
crucifix,  a  reading-desk  and  bench,  and  a  higher  seat  for  the  Abbot. 
All  matters  of  Discipline  were  discussed  here.  Kefractory  Monks  were 
often  flogged  on  that  part  where  tingling  sensations  are  the  more  sensibly 
effected.  A  hand-bell  was  rung  behind  the  delinquent  by  the  dutiful 
Brother  whose  office  it  was  to  apply  the  twig.  Various  Penances  were 
decreed,  in  proportion  to  the  Offence.  M.  Paris  mentions  the  Lantern  of 
Penance,  which  was  to  be  carried  publicly.  Sometimes  an  old  sack  was  tied 
round  the  neck ;  drinking  water  denied  by  the  excrement  of  a  fowl ;  walking, 
with  naked  feet,  in  their  breeches,  &c.  [Du  Cange  and  Marten. 1 

INFIRMARIES,  or  HOSPITALS,  had  a  Chapel  attached,  a  lobby  or  gallery 
for  the  invalids  to  walk  in,  and  gardens  or  courts  for  their  recreation. 
Phlebotomy  was  in  much  use  in  the  Middle  Ages.  The  dying  sick  were 
washed,  and  received  Extreme  Unction  and  the  Blessed  Sacrament.  They 
were  attentively  cared  for  before  and  after  decease.  The  Ceremonial  with 
regard  to  dying  Nuns  was  similar  to  that  of  the  Monks,  except  that  they 
were  Anointed  on  the  throat,  above  the  breast  and  chin,  instead  of  on  the 
navel  in  males. 

ABBEYS  had  a  Prison  for  offenders,  Guest-Halls,  spare  Bed-Booms 
(to  each  a  place  for  necessary  retirement),  a  Clothes  Closet,  a  Parlour, 
a  Locutory,  and  passages  leading  to  Staircases,  Cellars,  and  the  Buttery. 

GRANGES  were  the  Farms  and  Abbatial  Eesidences.  Abbeys  had  fine 
Gardens,  and  Orchards,  and  Dovecots.  The  Dorter  or  Dormitory  was 
generally  on  the  west  side  of  the  Cloister.  Adjoining  to  the  west  of  the 
Dorter  was  the  Privy,  with  separate  seats,  and  a  little  window.  Each  Monk 
had  a  little  Chamber  to  himself,  with  a  small  window,  in  which  was  a  desk 
and  shelf  for  books.  The  Premonstratensians  were  not  to  go  into  bed 
upright,  but,  sitting  down,  to  turn  round. 

On  Preparing  the  Host. 

Du  Gauge  gives  a  minute  account  of  the  manner  of  preparing  the  HOST 
in  the  BAKEHOUSE.  The  care  of  making  it  lay  with  the  Infirmarer.  The 
corn,  if  possible,  was  to  be  selected  grain  by  grain.  Then,  being  put  into  a 
clean  bag,  made  of  good  cloth,  and  used  for  this  purpose  only,  it  was  carried 
to  the  Mill  by  a  servant  of  good  character.  When  brought  there,  the 
servant  saw  that  some  other  corn  was  ground  first,  that  the  flour  for  the 
Host  might  not  be  polluted  with  any  fretts  from  the  Mill.  When  the  flour 
was  brought  home,  the  Sacrist  was  to  put  a  curtain  round  the  vessel  and 
place  where  the  flour  was  to  be  boulted,  and  provide  a  trusty  person  to  do 
this  work.  *0ne  of  the  servants  sprinkled  the  flour  upon  a  very  clean  table 
with  water,  and  moulded  and  kneaded  it.  The  servant  who  held  the  irons, 
in  which  the  Host  was  baked,  had  his  hands  covered  with  rochets ;  and  also 
while  the  Host  was  making  and  baking;  silence  was  also  observed  during 
the  same  processes.  The  man,  however,  who  held  the  iron,  might,  if 
necessary,  make  short  indications  to  the  servant  who  made  the  fire  and 


22  ORDERS  OF  THE  RELIGIOUS. 

brought  the  wood,  which  was  to  be  very  dry,  and  prepared  on  purpose  many 
days  before.      \TynduVs  Eve'sJiam,  p.  185.1 

"  The  Host/'  says  Du  Cange,  "before  Consecration  was  called  Obtain." 
These  Oblate,  not  Consecrated  though  blessed  on  the  Altar,  were  given  by 
the  Priest,  before  food  in  the  Refectory,  to  those  Monks  who  had  not 
received  the  Sacrament.  Oblataa  of  this  kind  were  in  the  earliest  ages  made 
in  an  iron  mould,  called  by  the  French  Oblie,  of  a  small  pattern,  in  the  form 
of  money ;  and  these,  as  well  as  the  Host,  were  made  of  the  purest  flour  by 
the  Monks  themselves,  with  stated  Ceremonies  and  Prayers,  in  a  Mould, 
marked  with  characters.  Sometimes  pious  Matrons,  whom  they  used  to 
call  Sanctinionia,  undertook  the  office  of  making  them,  which  was  without 
leaven.  These  Unconsecrated  Oblata,  there  is  reason  to  think,  were  some- 
times placed  upon  the  bosom  of  the  dead.  They  were  baked  in  a  cUbmuis, 
or  oven.  The  Oblata  was  a  name  from  thence  given  to  very  fine  bread  made 
of  flour  and  water,  baked  at  a  fire,  in  iron  presses.  The  Host,  before 
Consecration,  was  cut  in  the  form  of  a  Cross,  by  an  especial  knife,  and  the 
Vessels  in  which  it  was  preserved  made  in  the  form  of  small  towers.  The 
Host  was  mystically  divided  into  nine  parts,  called  Gloria,  &c.  It  was 
deemed  Heresy  to  make  the  Host  of  fermented  bread. 


ORDERS    OF    THE    RELIGIOUS. 

All  Ecclesiastics  belonged  either  to  Regulars  or  Seculars.  The  Regulars 
followed  the  rule  of  S.  Augustine,  Bishop  of  Hippo  in  Africa,  of  S.  Bonnet,  or 
of  some  private  Statutes  approved  by  the  Pope ;  and  lived,  slept,  and  took 
their  diet  together,  under  the  same  roof.  They  were  either  Canons,  Monks, 
or  Friars;  and  their  Houses  were  called  Abbacies,  Priories,  or  Convents. 

The  Seculars  had  their  private  Rules,  composed  by  their  Chapters,  or 
borrowed  from  other  Colleges  abroad.  They  lived  separately  in  their 
Cloisters,  or  in  private  Houses  near  to  their  Churches ;  and  were  governed 
by  a  Dean  (Decamis)  or  Provost  (Pmpositas). 

Those  that  followed  S.  Augustine's  Rule  were 

I.  The   Regular   Canons  of  S.  Augustine  (Canonici  Regulares),  so 
TT    mi    C£        fr°m  their  Fonnder  or  Reformer— 28th  Aug.,  A.D.  388. 
he  iremonstratenses— from  Premontre,  in  France,  6th  June,  A.D. 

JL  1 1-1 ). 

III.  The  Red  Friars,  or  De  redcmptione  captivontm—Qth  Februarv-20th 

November,  A.D.  1198. 

IV.  The  Dominicans  or  Black  Friars-founded  21st  Marcn,  A.D.  543. 

Canons  of  S.  Anthony— founded  first,  17th  January,  A.D.  356. 
Those  that  foUowed  S.  Bennet's  Rule  were— 

I.  The  Benedictines  of  Marmoutier  (Majoris  Monastcrii)—21si  March, 

A.D.   54d. 


THE  CANONS-EEGULAE.  23 

II.  Of  Chiny,  named  Cluniacenses — founded  by  S.  Odo,  18th  November, 
A.D.  909. 

III.  Of  Tyron  (Tyronenses),  so  called  from  their  principal  Houses  in 

France — founded  by  B.  Eobert  of  Abbeville,  A.D.  1109. 

IV.  The  Cistertians  (Cistertienses),  or  Bernardines — A.D.  1098. 

V.  Those  who  were  designed  of  the  Convent  of  Vallis-caulium  (Val 
des  chonx),  in  the  Diocese  of  Langres  in  France — A.D.  1193. 

The  WHITE  FRIARS,  or  CARMELITES,  had  their  beginning  and  name  from 
Mount  Carmel  in  Syria,  renowned  for  the  Dwelling  of  Elias  and  Elisha  the 
Prophets,  who  (as  they  say)  were  their  Founders.  Albertus,  Patriarch  of 
Jerusalem,  and  Native  of  the  Diocese  of  Amiens,  closed  them  up  in 
Cloisters,  and  gave  them  some  Eules  or  Statutes,  A.D.  1205;  which  were 
Confirmed  by  Pope  Honorius  III.,  A.D.  1217,  and  since,  by  several  of  his 
Successors. 

The  FRANCISCANS,  so  named  from  S.  Francis  of  Assize  in  Italy,  who 
established  them  A.D.  1206.  They  followed  the  Eule  that  S.  Francis  com- 
posed for  them;  and  were  Confirmed  by  Pope  Innocent  III.,  A.D.  1209. 

The  CARTHUSIANS,  who  were  established  upon  the  Carthusian  Moun- 
tains, in  the  Diocese  of  Grenoble,  in  the  Province  of  Dauphine,  followed 
also  their  private  Constitutions,  which  were  given  them  by  their  Founder, 
and  approved  of  by  Pope  Alexander  III.,  A.D.  1176,  and  by  the  Succeeding 
Popes. 

All  these  Eeligious  Orders  were  either  endowed  with  sufficient  Eents 
for  maintaining  them,  or  were  allowed  to  Beg  for  their  living.  From 
whence  arises  a  new  Division  of  Churchmen, — the  one  called  Rented 
Religions,  who  were  endowed  with  several  Mortifications ;  the  others,  Begging 
Friars,  or  Mendicants,  who  had  little  or  nothing  settled  upon  them. 

The  first  were  the  Canons-Eegular,  Monks  of  different  Orders,  specified 
above,  as  Benedictines,  Cistertians,  Carthusians,  Vallis-caulium,  and  the 
Eed  Friars,  &c.  The  others  were  the  Black,  Gray,  and  White  Friars. 
[8poUisii'oode.~] 


THE     CANONS-EEGULAE. 

THEIR    DRESS. 

They  wore  a  white  Eobe,  with  a  Eochet  (Roclietnm)  of  fine  linen  above 
their  Gown;  a  Surplice  in  Church  (Superpdticium);  and  an  Almuce  (Lamu- 
tium),  formerly  on  their  shoulders,  thereafter  on  their  left  arm,  hanging  as 
far  down  as  the  ground.  This  Almuce  was  of  a  fine  black  or  gray  skin, 
brought  from  foreign  Countries,  and  frequently  lined  with  Ermine. 


24       THE  KULES  OF  THE  CANONS-EEGULAE. 

RULES    THEY   IOLLOWED. 

S.  Augustine's  (Bishop  of  Hippo)  Rule  I. 

1.  That  the  Monks  ought  to  possess  nothing  in  particular,  nor  call  any 
thing  their  own. 

2.  That  the  Wealthy,  who  become  Monks,  ought  to  sell  what  they  have, 
and  give  the  money  to  the  Poor. 

3.  That  those  who  sue  for  the  Eeligious  Habits,  ought  to  pass  under 
trial  before  being  admitted. 

4.  That  the  Monks  ought  to  subtract  nothing  from  the  Monastery,  nor 
receive  any  thing  whatsoever,  without  the  permission  of  their  Superior. 

5.  That  the  Monks  ought  to  communicate  to  their  Superior  those  points 
of  Doctrine  which  they  have  heard  discoursed  of  out  of  the  Monastery. 

6.  That  if  any  one  is  stubborn  toward  his  Superior,  after  the  first  and 
second  correction  in  secret,  he  shall  be  denounced  publicly  as  a  Eebel. 

7.  If  it  happens  that,  in  time  of  Persecution,  the  Monks  are  forced  to 
retire,  they  ought  immediately  to  betake  themselves  to  that  place  where  their 
Superior  is  withdrawn. 

8.  If,  for  the  same  reason,  any  Monk  hath  saved  something  belonging 
to  the  Monastery,  he  shall  give  it  up,  as  soon  as  possible,  into  the  hands  of 
his  Superior. 

9.  That  the  whole  Fraternity   shall  oblige  themselves,  under  their 
hands,  to  observe  this  Eule. 

Rule  II. 

1.  It  is  there  commanded  to' love  God  and  our  Neighbour,  and  in  what 
order  the  Monks  ought  to  recite  the  Psalms,  and  the  rest  of  their  Office. 

2.  They  ought  to   employ  the  first  part  of  the  Morning  in  Manual 
Works,  and  the  rest  in  Eeading.     In  the  Afternoon,  they  return  again  to 
their  Work  till  the  Evening.     They  ought  to  possess  nothing  of  their  own, 
not  to  murmur,  but  be  obedient  in  all  things  to  their  Superior;  to  keep 
silence  in  eating.    The  Saturday  is  appointed  to  provide  them  with  necessary 
things;  and  it  is  lawful  for  them  to  drink  Wine  on  Sundays. 

3.  When  they  go  abroad,  they  must  always  go  two  together.     They  are 
never  to  eat  out  of  the  Monastery.     They  ought  to  be  conscientious  in  what 
they  sell,  and  faithful  in  what  they  buy. 

4.  They  ought  not  to  utter  idle  words,  but  work  with  silence. 

5.  Whosoever  is  negligent  in  the  practice  of  these  Precepts,  ought  to  be 
corrected  and  beaten;  and  those  who  are  true  observers  of  them  must  rejoice, 
and  be  confident  of  their  Salvation. 

Eule  III. 

In  the  Prologue,  the  Monks  are  ordered  to  love  God  and  their  Nei<*li- 
bour,  and  in  the  Chapters  to  observe  the  following  things. 
1.  They  ought  to  possess  nothing  but  in  common. 

2  The  Superior  ought  to  distribute  every  thing  in  the  Monastery  with 
proportion  to  every  one's  necessity. 

3  Those  who  bring  with  them  any  thing  into  the  Monastery,  ought 
immediately  to  render  it  common  to  all. 

to   temPoral   Fortunes    and 


THE  EULES  OF  THE  CANONS-REGULAR.       25 

5.  Those  who  bring  Estates  with  them  into  the  Monastery,  ought  not 
therefore  to  be  more  puffed  up  with  pride  than  others. 

6.  They  ought  to  honour  God  in  one  another,  as  being  become  His  holy 
Temples. 

7.  They  must  attend  to  Prayer  at  Canonical  Hours. 

8.  The  only  business  at  Church  is  to  Pray,  and  if  any  have  a  mind  to 
do  it  out  of  the  time  of  Canonical  Hours,  he  ought  not  to  be  hindered. 

9.  They  must  perform  their  Prayers  with  attention,  singing  only  what 
is  appointed  to  be  sung. 

10.  They  ought  to  apply  themselves  to  Fasting  and  Abstinence  with 
discretion. 

11.  If  any  one  of  them  is  not  able  to  Fast,  he  ought  not  therefore  to 
eat  between  Meals,  unless  he  be  sick. 

12.  They  must  mind  what  is  read  to  them  while  they  are  at  their  Meals. 

13.  None  ought  to  be  envious  to  see  the  Sick  better  treated  than  the 
others  are. 

14.  None  ought  to  find  fault,  if  somewhat  more  delicate  be  given  to 
those  who  are  of  weaker  constitution. 

15.  Those  who  are  upon  recovery,  ought  to  make  use  of  comfortable 
things. 

1C.  When  recovered,  they  ought  to  return  to  the  common  observance. 

17.  They  ought  to  be  grave  and  modest  in  their  Habits. 

18.  Whether  walking  or  standing  still,  they  ought  never  to  be  far  from 
their  Companion. 

19.  They  ought  to  express  modesty  and  steadiness  in  their  outward 
behaviour. 

20.  They  ought  not  to  cast  a  lustful  eye  upon  Women,  nor  wish  to  be 
seen  by  them. 

21 .  They  ought  not,  being  at  Church,  to  harbour  any  thoughts  of  Women. 

22.  When  it  is  known  that  a  Friar  courts  any  Woman,  after  having 
been  forewarned  several  times,  he  ought  to  be  corrected;  and  if  he  will  not 
submit  to  correction,  he  must  be  turned  out  of  the  Monastery. 

23.  All  Correction  must  be  inflicted  with  Charity. 

24.  They  ought  not  to  receive  Letters  nor  Presents  in  secret. 

25.  There  must  be  in  the  Monastery  a  Vestry  or  common  place  to  lay 
up  their  Habits  in;  and  they  must  be  contented  with  those  Habits  that  are 
given  to  them. 

26.  All  their  Works  ought  to  be  rendered  common. 

27.  If  some  of  their  Relations  send  them  Clothes,  it  shall  be  in  the 
power  of  the  Superior  to  give  them  to  whom  he  pleaseth. 

28.  That  he  who  coucealeth  any  thing  as  his  own,  be  proceeded  against 
as  guilty  of  Robbery. 

29.  They  ought  to  wash  their  own  Clothes,  or  have  them  washed  by 
others-,  with  license  of  their  Superior. 

30.  The  Baths,  and  all  sorts  of  Medicines,  ought  to  be  allowed  to  the 
Sick,  as  the  Superior  and  Physicians  shall  think  fit ;  and  those  Friars  who 
complain  of  inward  sicknesses  must  be  believed  upon  their  words. 

31.  They  ought  not  to  go  to  the  Baths,  unless  in  company  of  two  or 
three  appointed  by  their  Superior. 

32.  The  Sick  shall  be  committed  to  an  Attendant,  whose  care  must  be 
to  demand  from  the  Steward  all  necessary  things  for  them. 

VOL.    I.  D 


26       THE  RULES  OF  THE  CANONS-REGULAR. 

83.  Those  who  are  in  any  Office,  ought  to  serve  their  Brethren  without 
0Tflfl0iYiflf 

84.  There  ought  to  be  every  day  an  hour  set  to  take  Books  out  of  the 
Library;  and  it  is  not  permitted  at  any  other  time  to  take  any  from  thence. 

85.  Those  who  have  the  care  of  Clothes  and  Shoes,  ought  to  give  them, 
without  delay,  to  those  that  want  them. 

80.  The  Monks  ought  to  shun  all  Lawsuits  and  Contentions. 

87.  Those  who  have  done  any  injury,  or  given  offence  to  any  of  their 
Brethren,  ought  to  ask  them  forgiveness;  and  spare  for  nothing  to  be 
reconciled. 

38.  If  one  have  given  ill  language  to  another,  he  ought  immediately  to 
remedy  it  with  softer  words. 

39.  If  the-  Superior  hath  made  use  of  too  hard  expressions  in  giving 
Correction,  he  is  not  obliged  to  beg  excuse,  for  fear  of  diminishing  his 
authority. 

40.  'That  they  ought  to  obey  him  who  is  Head  over  them,  but  especially 
the  Elder  or  Priest,  who  hath  the  care  of  the  whole  Monastery. 

41.  The  Superior  ought  in  his  Corrections,  when  his  authority  is  not 
sufficient,  to  have  recourse  to  that  of  the  Elder  or  Priest. 

42.  That  the  Superior  ought  not  to  pride  himself  of  his  Dignity,  but 
ought  to  have  all  the  Qualities  of  a  good  Father  toward  his  Inferiors. 

43.  That  the  Monks  ought  to  observe  these  Rules  out  of  love,  and  not 
out  of  slavish  fear. 

44.  That  this  Rule  ought  to  be  read  once  a  Week,  in  presence  of  the 
Monks. 


ABBEY  OF  SCONE.  27 


THE  CANONS-REGULAR  AND  THEIR  MONASTERIES. 

THE  Canons-Regular  of  S.  Augustine  were  brought  to  Scotland  by 
Atelwholphus,  Prior  of  S.  Oswald  of  Nostel  in  Yorkshire,  and 
afterwards  Bishop  of  Carlisle,  who  established  them  first  at 
Scone,  A.D.  1114,  at  the  desire  of  King  Alexander  I.  They  had 
twenty-seven  Monasteries  in  Scotland,  which  were  as  follow  :— 

I.  SCONE,  or  SCOON,     A.D.  1114, 

Stands  two  miles  north  of  Perth,  on  the  east  bank  of  the 
River  Tay,  on  the  road  to  Coupar- Angus.  The  Abbey  Wall, 
as  appears  from  the  Foundations  which  have  been  dug  up, 
enclosed  at  least  twelve  Acres  of  ground.  Long  before  the 
Foundation  of  this  Abbey,  Scone  was  a  place  of  note.  Some 
Writers  call  it  the  ancient  Capital  of  the  Picts :  it  was  certainly 
the  chief  Seat  of  the  Kings  of  Scotland  as  early  as  the  time  of 
Kenneth.  In  the  Church  of  this  Abbey  (on  the  site  of  which 
was  built  a  Parish  Church  in  1624;  but,  excepting  an  Aisle, 
containing  an  elaborate  Marble  Monument"  to  the  first  Viscount 
David  Stormont,  this  also  has  been  demolished)  was  kept  the 
famous  "  Fatal  Stone" — lia-fail  or  hiiser-stuhl — "  the  ancient 
Coronation  Stone  of  Scotland."  The  Monkish  tradition  was, 
that  it  was  the  identical  Stone  which  served  Jacob  for  a  pillow, 
and  was  afterwards  transported  into  Spain,  where  it  was  used  as 
a  Seat  of  Justice  by  Gothalus,  a  Contemporary  with  Moses. 
There  is  nothing  striking  in  the  appearance  of  this  Stone,  which 
is  now  placed  below  the  seat  of  the  Coronation  Chair  in  West- 

*  On  the  north  wall  of  this  Aisle  stands  this  fine  Monument.  It  represents  the 
inside  of  a  Chapel  or  Oratory.  In  the  middle  is  a  Statue  of  liis  Lordship  in  armour, 
as  large  as  life,  kneeling  on  a  cushion  before  an  Altar,  on  which  is  laid  a  Book.  His 
hands  are  joined  in  supplication.  Every  vein  in  the  face  and  hands  of  this  Effigy  is 
finely  executed.  The  whole  is  so  well  done,  that  the  Figure  seems  to  breathe.  On 
each  side  is  a  man  in  armour,  somewhat  smaller  than  life,  but  of  admirable  work- 
manship. The  heads  are  remarkably  well  done.  One  is  said  to  represent  the 
Marquis  of  Tullibardine,  and  the  other'the  Earl  Marischal.  Above  these  are  several 
emblematical  features;  towards  the  top  are. the  Arms  of  the  Family;  and  an  Angel 
surmounts  the  whole. 


MONASTICON. 

Bo 

minster  Abbey,  with  one  end  or  side  visible.      It  is  just  a  dirty 
ie  rougl^looking  sandstone,  measuring  26  inches  m  length 
S|  inches  in  breadth,  and  10*  inches  m  rtnckness      Withou 
"pinning  our  faith"  to  those  Traditions  which  our  forefathers 
found  it  not  at  all  difficult  to  believe  in  (such  as  the  above)  we 
may  admit  the  possibility  of  its  being  the  same  Stone  on  which 
the  ancient  Kings  of  Ireland  seated  themselves  when  Crowned  on 


Representation  of  the  Inauguration  of  a  King,  seated  and  attired  in  the  same 
Vestures  as  depicted  in  the  Great  Seal  of  Robert  I.  On  the  dexter,  a  Bishop, 
Mitred,  is  stationed  in  the  act  of  office ;  on  the  sinister  is  another  vested  without 
Mitre.  Five  other  Officials  are  engaged  in  the  Solemnity.  Underneath  are 
three  Shields :  the  centre  one  bears  the  Arms  of  Scotland ;  the  dexter,  three 
Pales,  for  Atholl ;  the  sinister,  two  Chevrons,  for  Stratheame.  The  background 
is  ornamented  with  a  seme  of  roses.  Date  of  the  Seal,  probably  about  1350. 

8.   ECCE    SCE   TRIXITATIS   ET   SCI   MICHAELIS    DE    SCONA. 

the  Hill  of  Tara,  and  which  Fergus  (the  son  of  Eric),  the  first 
King  of  Scotland,  took  with  him  when  he  led  the  Dalriads  to  the 
shores  of  Argyleshire.  He  himself  was  Crowned  upon  it,  enclosed 
(as  has  been  said)  in  the  bottom  or  drawer  of  an  old  ugly  wooden 


ABBEY  OF  SCONE. 


29 


Chair;  but  which  looks  smart  enough  when  dressed  and  clothed 
once  in  half  a  Century.  Our  earliest  Monarchs  made  the  like 
use  of  the  Stone  at  Dunstaffnage.  It  continued  there,  as  the 
Coronation  Seat,  till  the  Eeign  of  Kenneth  II.,  who  removed  it 
to  Scone.  Every  Scottish  King  was  Crowned  and  Consecrated 
thereupon  till  the  year  1296,  when  Edward  I.  took  it  to  England, 
where,  ever  since,  in  the  Church  of  Westminster  Abbey,  every 


Counter  Seal. — Representation  of  the  Blessed  Trinity :  God  the  Father  en- 
throned, exhibiting  His  Crucified  Son  over  an  encircled  balcony ;  the  Holy  Dove 
is  on  right  shoulder  of  the  First  Person,  Figures  of  the  four  Evangels  surround 
this  scene.  Below  is  S.  Michael  standing  011  the  Dragon,  environed  with  the 
Vision  of  Ezekiel  (chap.  1).  Circumscription  the  same  as  on  foregoing  Seal. 

British  Sovereign  has  had  the  Crown  placed  upon  his  Koyal  Pate 
by  Episcopal  hands,  in  the  sight  "of  assembled  thousands.  A 
Record  exists  of  the  expenses  attending  its  removal  to  its  present 
quietus.  Edward  removed  the  "  Stone  of  Destiny,"  for  the 
purpose  of  defeating  an  ancient  Prophecy  expressed  in  the  follow- 
ing leonine  verse : — 


;;<>  MONASTICON. 

k-  Ni  fallat  fatum,  Scoti,  quocunque  locatum, 
Invenient  lapidem,  reguare  tenentur  ibidem." 

"  Unless  old  prophecies  and  words  are  vain, 
Where'er  this  Stone  is  found,  the  Scots  shall  reign." 

The  Prediction  was  considered  as  verified  when  King  James 
VI.  ascended  the  English  Throne.  At  the  Coronation  of 
Alexander  III.  (the  last  of  that  noble  dynasty,  an  infant  of  eight 
years  old),  a  veteran  kilted  Highlander,  on  his  bare  knees,  in 
elevated  Gaelic  tones,  hailed  the  new-crowned  guileless  Monarch 
as  Alexander  MacAlexander,  Mac  William,  MacHenry,  Mac- 
David,  MacMalcolm,  &c.,  going  down  and  deducing  his  Koyal 
descent  through  56  generations,  from  Fergus  I.,  up  to  Scota, 
daughter  of  Pharaoh,  King  of  Egypt ! 

In  the  "Liber  Ecdesie  cle  Scon,"  Published  by  the  "Mait- 
land  Club"  in  1843,  and  Edited  by  Professor  Cosmo  Innes, 
are  contained  233  different  Charters,  from 
the  Foundation  of  the  Abbey  by  Alexander 
I.  in  1114,  down  to  a  Gift  to  "Den  Henry 
Abercromby,  Prior,"  of  ,416  yearly  and 
Victual,  with  his  Chambers  under  and 
above,  retained  and  built  at  his  own  costs, 
from  Patrick,  Bishop  of  Moray,  and  Com- 
mendator  of  the  Abbey  of  Scone,  Dated 
at  Spynie,  1570. 

The   "Kental"   and    "Feus"   of    the 
Abbey  (1561)  are  also  Printed  in  the  Ap- 

S.  Michael   overcoming  '.  ,,  .,  * 

the  Dragon.    On  the  left  is  l^ndix  to  the  said  Volume.    As  the  Preface, 
a  Monk  Kneeling  and  hold-  embodies  the  most   recent   and   accurate 

data,  the  sequel  is  taken  therefrom. 

The  exact  Date  of  the  Foundation  of  this  Monastery  is 
unknown.  According  to  the  Chronicle  of  Melrose  and  the 
Foundation  Charter,  Alexander  I.  and  his  wife  Sibylla  estab- 
lished a  colony  of  Canons-Regular  of  the  Order  of  S.  Augustine, 
brought  from  the  Church  of  S.  Oswald,  at  Nastlay,  near 
Pontefract  in  Yorkshire.  The  Culdees,  deriving  their  Institu- 
tions from  lona,  are  supposed  to  have  had  an  Establishment  at 
Scone,  prior  to  this  re-formation  in  1114  or  1115,  Dedicated  to 


ABBEY  OF  SCONE. 


81 


the  Holy  Trinity;  and  the  new  Foundation  was  dedicated  to 
God,  in  honour  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  S.  Michael,  S.  John, 
S.  Lawrence,  and  S.  Augustine.  At  first,  the  Superiors  of 
Scone,  as  well  as  of  the  Mother  House  of  S.  Oswald,  appear  to 
have  been  Priors,  though  the  new  Fpundation  was,  from  the 
beginning,  declared  independent  of  the  English  House. 


CHART    OF    KING    ALEXANDER    FOR    THE    FOUNDING    OF    THE    ABBEY. 


In  Nomine  Sancte  et  Induidue 
Trinitatis  qua  vnus  Deus  adoratur 
et  collitur  et  creditur.  Quia  sicut 
Eex  et  propheta  Dauid  testatur  do- 
mum  Dei  semper  decet  saiictitudo 
ego  Alexander  Dei  gratia  Eex  Scot- 
torum  films  regis  Malcolmi  et 
regine  Margarete  et  ego  Sibilla 
Eegina  Scottorum  filia  Henrici  regis 
Anglie  volentes  domum  Domini 
decorare  et  habitationem  eius  exal- 
tare  ecclesiam  in  honorem  Sancte 
Trinitatis  dedicatam  que  est  in 
Scona  concedimiis  et  tradimus  ipsi 
Deo  et  sancte  Marie  et  sancto 
Micliaeli  et  sancto  Jolianni  et 
sancto  Laurencio  et  sancto  Augus- 
tino  liberam  et  solutam  et  quie- 
tam  ab  omni  exactione  et  inquietu- 
dine  a  quibus  regia  dignitas  et 
potestas  potest  earn  liberare  patro- 
cinare  et  defendere.  Ad  Dei  igitur 
cultum  et  honorem  dilatandum  et 
exaltandum  placuit  iiobis  clericos 
canonicorum  professione  Deo  famu- 
lantes  de  ecclesia  sancti  Osuualdi  de 
qua  fama  religiouis  nobis  innotuit 
honesto  proborum  virorum  consilio 
a  dompno  Adeluualdo  priore  requi- 
rere.  Quibus  ab  ipso  priore  nobis 
concessis  omni  professione  et 
subiectione  liberis  et  solutis  curam 
et  custodiam  prefate  ecclesie  sic 
commisimus  ut  ordinem  ibi  constitu- 
ant  ad  seruiendum  Deo  canonico 
secundum  regulam  sancti  Augustini. 
Terras  etiam  et  possessiones  et 
consuetudines  subscriptas  eidem 
ecclesie  pro  nobismetipsis  et  pro 
auimabus  patrum  ct  matrum  et 


In  the  Name  of  the  Holy  and 
Undivided  Trinity,  who,  as  one  God, 
is  adored,  worshipped,  and  confessed. 
Whereas  David,  King  and  Prophet, 
testifieth  that  Holiness  becometh 
God's  House  for  ever,  I,  Alexander, 
by  the  grace  of  God  King  of  the 
Scots,  son  of  King  Malcolm  and 
Queen  Margaret,  and  I,  Sibylla, 
Queen  of  the  Scots,  daughter  of 
Henry,  King  of  England,  wishing  to 
adorn  the  House  of  the  Lord,  and  to 
make  His  Dwelling-place  magnifical, 
do  make  grant  of  the  Church  dedi- 
cated to  the  Holy  Trinity  in  Scone, 
and  do  offer  it  to  God  Himself,  and 
to  S.  Mary,  and  S.  Michael,  and  S. 
John,  and  S.  Lawrence,  and  S. 
Augustine,  free  and  absolute,  and 
exempt  from  all  exaction  and  inter- 
ference, so  far  as  the  Eoyal  dignity 
and  authority  is  puissant  to  free, 
protect,  and  defend  it.  Therefore, 
for  the  extension  and  exaltation  of 
God's  worship  and  honour,  it  has 
pleased  us  to  demand  Clerics  of  the 
Order  of  Canons  serving  God  at  the 
Church  of  S.  Oswald,  the  fame  of 
whose  piety  has  been  signified  unto 
us  by  the  faithful  report  of  certain 
honourable  men,  from  Master  Adel- 
wald,  the  Prior ;  to  whom,  granted 
to  us  by  the  Prior  himself,  with  all 
due  submission  and  obedience,  free 
and  without  condition,  we  commit 
the  care  and  custody  of  the  aforesaid 
Church,  on  this  understanding :  that 
they  there  Canonically  constitute  an 
Order  for  the  serving  of  God  accord- 
ing to  the  Rule  of  S.  Augustine. 


82 


MONASTICON. 


fratrum  et  sororum  et  antecessorum 
et  successorum  nostrorum  fidelium 
jure  perpetuo  possidendas  concedi- 
mus.  Et  ne  quis  sacrilegio  ausu 
hec  violare  presumat  regio  auctori- 
tate  huius  carte  testimonio  confir- 
mamus.  Terre  autem  et  posses- 
siones  liec  sunt  Infervus  cum  quin- 
que  carucatis  terre  Benchorin  cum 
tribus  carucatis  terre  Fotlieros  cum 
vna  carucata  Kynochtred  cum  vna 
carucata  Fingask  cum  vna  carucata 
Dufrotlmi  cum  tribus  carucatis 
Cleon  cum  tribus  carucatis  Liff  curn 
sex  carucatis  Grudiu  cum  decem 
carucatis  Inuergourin  cum  tribus 
carucatis  et  quinque  rnansiones 
domuum  vnam  apud  Eduenesburg 
et  vnam  apud  Striuelin  et  vnam 
apud  Inuerkethyin  et  vnam  apud 
Perth  et  vnam  apud  Aberdon  et 
communionem  aque  de  Thei  ut  in 
ea  possint  piscari  sicut  ad  opus  regis 
et  can  iinius  nauis  siue  proprie  nauis 
fratrum  siue  illius  quern  proloquen- 
tur  et  medietatem  coriorum  ad 
coquinam  regis  pertinencium  et 
omnes  pelles  arietinas  et  agninas 
et  medietatem  uncti  et  saginiinis  et 
decimarn  panum  regis  ubicunque 
fuerit  a  nortlio  de  Lambrenaor.  Ego 
Alexander  Dei  gratia  Eex  Scottorurn 
propria  manu  mea  liec  confirrno  et 
sigillo  mee  ymagiuis  liec  consigno 
ego  Sibilla  Dei  gratia  Kegina  Scot- 
torum  propria  rnanu  mea  liec 
confirmo  ego  Gregorius  episcopus 
auctoritate  Dei  et  sanctoram  Apos- 
tolorum  Petri  et  Pauli  et  sancti 
Andree  Apostoli  ne  quis  liec  violare 
presumat  sub  anathemate  confirmo 
ego  Cormacus  episcopus  auctoritate 
Dei  et  sanctorum  Apostolorum 
Petri  et  Pauli  et  sancti  Andree 
Apostoli  ne  quis  liec  violare  pre- 
sumat sub  anathemate  confirmo  ego 
Alexander  nepos  regis  Alexandri  de 
hiis  testimonium  perhibeo  ego  Beth 
conies  similiter  ego  Gospatricius 
Dolfini  assensum  prebeo  ego  Mallus 
comes  asseusum  prebeo  ego  Madach 


The  lands,  also,  and  possessions  and 
customs,  which  are  Subscribed,  we 
grant  in  perpetual  right  of  posses- 
sion to  the  same  Church,  for  our  own 
behoof,  and  in  behoof  of  the  souls 
of  our  fathers  and  mothers,  brothers 
and  sisters,  and  of  our  ancestors  and 
our  faithful  descendants.  And  that 
no  one  may  presume  to  violate  these 
by  sacrilegious  attempt,  we  confirm 
the  testimony  of  this  Chart  by  Royal 
authority.  The  lands  and  posses- 
sions are  these :  Infervus,  with  5 
carucates  of  land ;  Benchorin,  with 
8  carucates  of  land ;  Fotlieros,  with 
1  carucate  ;  Kynochtred,  with  1 
carucate ;  Fingask,  with  1  carucate ; 
Dufrothni,  with  3  carucates  ;  Cleon, 
with  3  carucates  ;  Liff,  with  6  caru- 
cates ;  Grudin,  with  10  carucates ; 
Invergourin,  with  3  carucates  and  5 
mansion  houses — one  at  Edinburgh, 
and  one  at  Stirling,  and  one  at 
Inverkeithing,  and  one  at  Perth,  and 
one  at  Aberdeen,  and  the  right  to 
the  water  of  Tay  to  fish  in  it,  as  if 
for  the  King's  service,  and  a  basket 
of  one  boat,  whether  it  be  the  boat 
of  the  Brotherhood  or  one  which 
they  may  hail ;  and  the  half  of  the 
hides  pertaining  to  the  King's  kit- 
chen, and  all  the  rams'  and  lambs' 
skins,  and  the  half  of  the  fat  and 
stuffings,  and  tithes  of  the  King's 
bread,  wherever  he  was  north  of  the 
Lammerrnuirs.  I,  Alexander,  by 
the  grace  of  God  King  of  the  Scots, 
confirm  this  with  my  own  hand,  and 
Sign  it  with  my  own  Seal.  I, 
Sibylla,  by  the  grace  of  God  Queen 
of  the  Scots,  confirm  this  with  my 
own  hand.  I,  Gregory,  Bishop  by 
the  authority  of  God,  of  the  holy 
Apostles  Peter  and  Paul,  and  of  S. 
Andrew  the  Apostle,  that  none  may 
presume  to  violate  this,  confirm  it 
under  the  pain  of  Anathema.  I, 
Cormack,  Bishop  by  the  authority 
of  God,  and  of  the  holy  Apostles 
Peter  and  Paul,  and  S.  Andrew  the 
Apostle,  that  none  may  presume  to 


ABBEY  OF  SCONE. 


83 


comes  assensum  prebeo  ego  Eothri 
comes  assensum  prebeo  ego  Gart- 
nach  comes  assensum  prebeo  ego 
Dufagan  comes  assensum  prebeo 
huius  etiam  rei  sunt  isti  alij  testes 
Willelmus  frater  regine  Edwardus 
constabularius  Gospatricius  filius 
Walthef  Vsieth  Alfricus  pincerna 
ego  Forn  assensum  prebeo. 


violate  this,  confirm  it  with  an 
anathema.  I,  Alexander,  grandson 
of  King  Alexander,  bear  witness  to 
this.  I,  Beth,  Earl,  do  the  same. 
I,  Gospatrick,  son  of  Dolfinus,  bear 
witness ;  I,  Mallus,  Earl,  bear  wit- 
ness ;  I,  Madach,  Earl,  bear  witness ; 
I,  Eothri,  Earl,  bear  witness ;  I, 
Gartnoch,  Earl,  bear  witness ;  I, 
Dufagan,  Earl,  bear  witness.  And 
of  this  matter  these  are  the  other 
witnesses  :  William,  the  Queen's 
brother ;  Edward,  the  constabulary; 
Gospatrick,  son  of  Walthef ;  Usieth 
Alfricus,  the  cup-bearer.  I,  Forn, 
bear  witness. 


CHART    OF    KING    ALEXANDER   ANENT    THE    TRIBUTE    AND    CUSTOM    OF    ONE    BOAT. 


Alexander  Dei  gratia  Eex  Scotto- 
rum  omnibus  mercatoribus  Anglie 
salutem  Sciatis  me  dedisse  et  con- 
cessisse  in  elimosina  ecclesie  Sancte 
Trinitatis  de  Scon  et  priori  fratribus- 
que  ibi  seruientibus  can  et  consue- 
tudines  vnias  nauis  et  ideo  uolo  et 
firmiter  precipio  ut  omnes  merca- 
tores  extra  regionem  Scotie  manen- 
tes  qui  nauem  illam  cum  mercibus 
suis  ascendere  atque  in  Sconam 
venire  uoluerint  pacem  meam  et 
Dei  eundo  et  redeundo  pacemque 
tenendo  habeant,  et  nulli  nisi  priori 
et  fratribus  dicte  ecclesie  de  con- 
suetudinibus  illius  nauis  respon- 
deant.  Teste  Eoberto  episcopo 
electo  Sanctiandree  et  Herberto 
cancellario.  Apud  Perth. 


Alexander,  by  the  grace  of  God, 
King  of  the  Scots,  to  all  the  Mer- 
chants of  England,  health.  Be  it 
known  to  you  that  I  have  given  and 
granted  for  charitable  use  to  the 
Church  of  the  Holy  Trinity  of  Scone, 
and  to  the  Prior  and  Brethren  there 
serving  [God] ,  the  tribute  and  cus- 
toms of  one  boat;  and,  therefore,  I 
wish  and  firmly  enjoin  that  all 
Merchants  living  beyond  the  realms 
of  Scotland,  wishing  to  take  their 
boat  up  the  Eiver,  and  come  into 
Scone,  may  have  my  peace  and 
God's,  by  coming,  and  returning, 
and  preserving  peace;  and.  that  to 
no  one,  unless  the  Prior  and  Breth- 
ren of  the  said  Church,  are  they 
responsible  for  the  privileges  of  that 
boat.  Eobert,  Bishop  Elect  of  St. 
Andrews,  Witness,  and  Herbert,  the 
Chancellor.  At  Perth. 


The  Abbey  of  Scone  had  eleven  Churches,  viz.,  Scone, 
Cambusmichael,  Kinfauns,  Logierait,  Blair,  Redgorton,  Kil- 
spindyrait,  Logie,  Dundee,  Liff,  Invergowrie.  It  was  erected 
into  a  temporal  Lordship  by  King  James  VI.,  in  favour  of  Sir 
David  Murray,  a  Cadet  of  the  Family  of  Tullibardine,  in  the 
year  1604. 


VOL.  I. 


84  MONASTICON. 

FIRST    PRIORS    OF    SCONE. 

1.  ROBERT,  who  was  made  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews  in  1124.    TheExtracta 
ex  Chronicis  Scotia;,  in  the  Advocates1  Library,  says  that  the  first  Prior  was 
."Robertas  Canonicus  Sancti  Oswaldi  de  Nostellis  in  Anglia." 

2.  NICOLAS.     Died  in  1140. 

3.  DIONYSIUS,  immediately  succeeded,  and  appears  as  a  Witness  in  a 
Charter  of  David  I.,  along  with  John,  Bishop  of  Glasgow. 

4.  THOMAS.     Died  in  1154.      Styled  Scotm  by  Fordun,  which  would 
seem  to  imply  that  all  the  preceding  Priors  were  of  the  original  English 
colony. 

5.  ISAAC.     Died  in  1162.     Last  Prior. 

ABBOTS. 

1.  ROBERT,   formerly   Canon   of  Jedburgh,    and  Prior   of  Restennet, 
succeeded  Prior  Isaac,  and  obtained  for  himself  the  rank  of  an  Abbot  (1173) 
under  Malcolm  IV.,  who,  at  the  same  time,  recognised  the  Abbey  and 
Church  of  Scone  as  the  chief  seat  of  Government.     The  Chapter  records  the 
recent  destruction  of  the  Church  by  fire,  and  large  Grants  are  made  for  its 
reconstruction.     Robert,  the  first  Abbot,  Died  in  1186. 

2.  ROBERT,  the  first  Prior,  succeeded,  but  resigned  in  1198. 

3.  REINBALD  was  a  Witness  to  the  Foundation  Charter  of  Inchaffray  in 
1200,  and  to  a  Charter  of  Duncan,  Earl  of  Fife,  by  which  he  granted  the 
Church  of  Kilconcath  [Kilconquhar  in  Fife]  to  the  Nuns  of  North  Berwick. 
He  was  Abbot  subsequent  to  the  promotion  of  William  Malvoisin  to  the  See 
of  St.  Andrews,  in  1202. 

4.  WILLIAM  held  the  office  in  1211  and  1213,  and  continued  till  1225. 

5.  PHILIP  was  Abbot  of  Scone  in  1231-37  and  42. 

6.  ROBERT  was  Abbot  in  1244.     Resigned  in  1270,  on  account  of  the 
intolerable  persecutions  he  was  subjected  to  from  those  of  his  Convent. 

7.  NICHOLAS  was  Abbot  in  1272.     Elected  to  the  See  of  Caithness  in 
1273,  but  returned  from  Rome,  unconfirmed,  in  1275. 

8.  THOMAS.     He  did  homage  to  Edward  at  Perth,  on  the  24th  July, 
1291,  and  again  in  1296.     He  was  Abbot  of  Scone  when  it  was  destroyed  by 
the  English  Army  on  the  17th  August,  1298,  after  the  Battle  of  Falkirk. 
He  assisted  at  the  Coronation  of  Robert  the  Bruce,  at  Scone,  on  the  27th 
March,  1306.     In  September,  1306,  he  was  made  prisoner  by  the  English 
Army,  and  sent,  along  with  the  Bishops  of  St.  Andrews  and  Glasgow,  to 
England,  and  confined  in  fetters.    After  these  events,  Edward  applied  to  the 
Pope  to  sanction  the  translation  of  the  Abbey  of  Scone  from  its  position, 
"in  the  midst  of  a  perverse  people." 

9.  HENRY,  Abbot  before  1304,  and  in  1320. 

10.  SIMON,  from  1321  to  1326. 

11.  ADAM  DE  CARALE  held  office  on  the  12th  September,  1335,  and  was 
t  on  the  last  of  April,  in  the  14th  year  of  the  Reign  of  David  II. 


ABBEY  OF  SCONE.  35 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  Bull  of  Benedict  XII.,  conferring  on  the 
Abbot  of  Scone  the  privileges  of  a  Mitred  Abbacy,  is  addressed  to  Adam, 
though  the  Abbot's  name  in  it  is  given  as  Alexander.  In  the  original  it 
must  liave  stood  A. 

12.  WILLIAM,  Abbot  of  Scone,  occurs  from  10th  February,  1353,  to  1371. 

13.  LAWEENCE  DE  LINDOEIS,  Abbot  in  1411.     He  was  the  first  Professor 
of  Law  at  St.  Andrews.     He  is  said  to  have  written  Examen  Hccreticomm 
Lolardonun  quos  toto  reyno  execjit. 

14.  ADAM  DE  CEENACH  was  Consecrated  Abbot  25th  April,  1418,  and 
held  office  in  1426.    "  A  man  of  excellent  learning  and  religion."     [Forchm.] 

15.  WILLIAM,  Abbot  of  Scone,  31st  May,  1435. 

16.  THOMAS  DE  CAMERA,  Abbot  on  the  19th  May,  1450,  and  on  the  7th 
February,   1456.     The  Eegister  and  Chartulary  was  written  during  his 
Incumbency. 

17.  John  was  Abbot  of  Scone  in  1465.     He  was  ''Vicar- General"  of 
Patrick,  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  24th  February,  1471.      He  was  party  to  a 
Contract  with  Henry,  Abbot  of  Dunfermline,  in  1479;  was  Patron  of  the 
Altarage   of  S.  Dennis,  in  the  Church  of  Perth,   1484;    granted   a  Feu 
Charter  in  1487;  and  gave  Lands  near  the  Church  of  Eait  to  Thomas 
Allansone,  on  the  21st  April,  1491. 

18.  JAMES  was  Abbot  on  the  5th  January,  1493,  in  1495,  1505,  1506, 
1511,  and  on  the  24th  August,  1514. 

19.  ALEXANDER  STUART,  son  of  Alexander,  Duke  of  Albany,  held  the 
Abbacy  of  Scone  in  commendam,  along  with  the  Abbacy  of  Inchafiray,  and 
the  Priory  of  Whithorn ;  and  continued  to  hold  them  after  he  was  promoted 
to  the  Bishoprick  of  Moray  in  1527.     He  was  Buried  at  Scone  in  1534. 

20.  PATRICK  HEPBURN,  son  to  Patrick,  first  Earl  of  Bothwell,  Prior  of  St. 
Andrews,  was  promoted  to  the  Bishoprick  of  Moray  in  1535,  and,  along 
with  the  Bishoprick,  like  his  Predecessor,  held  the  Abbacy  of  Scone  in 
commendam. 

Some  of  the  earliest  Paiiiainents  on  record  were  held  at 
Scone.  Malcolm  IV.,  in  a  remarkable  Charter  of  the  llth  year 
of  his  Reign,  granted  aid  for  the  restoration  of  the  Abbey  recently 
destroyed  by  fire.  For  many  years  there  was  an  intimate 
connexion  between  the  Abbey  of  Scone  and  the  Diocese  of 
Caithness.  In  the  Charter  No.  58,  Printed  in  the  Book  of  the 
Church  of  Scone,  alluded  to  above,  is  mentioned  a  grant  of  one 
mark  of  silver  from  Harold  of  the  Orkneys,  Shetland,  and  Caith- 
ness, to  God,  and  S.  Michael,  and  the  Canons  remaining  at 
Scone.  And  in  Charter  No.  73,  is  a  Pass  granted  by  Alexander 
II.,  for  a  ship  of  the  Abbot,  evidently  on  a  northern  cruise,  and 


86  MONASTICON. 

addressed  to  the  King's  Officers  of  Moray  and  Caithness.  In 
Charters  Nos.  £2,  96,  and  101,  incidental  notices  occur  of  the 
great  Flood  or  Inundation  which  destroyed  the  City  of  Perth, 
and  nearly  proved  fatal  to  the  Koyal  Family,  in  1210;  and 
evidence  is  given  of  the  Town  of  Dunkeld  being  first  granted  to 
the  Bishop  by  Alexander  II. 

On  the  27th  June,  1559,  the  Abbey  and  other  Keligious 
Houses  of  Scone  were  burned  to  the  ground  by  "John  Knox, 
and  his  mob,"  from  Dundee.  Yery  little  even  in  the  way  of 
Kuins  survived  the  storm  of  the  "Keformation." 

THE    DISTRUCTIOUN    OF    SCONE. 

In  this  meantyme,  four  zealous  men,  considdering  how  obstinat,  prowde, 
and  dispitefull  the  Bischope  of  Murray  (Patrick  Hepburn)  had  bein  befoir; 
how  he  had  threatned  the  town  be  his  soldiouris  and  freindis,  who  lay  in 
Skune,  thought  good  that  some  ordour  should  be  taikin  with  him  and  with 
that  place,  whiche  lay  neir  to  the  town  end.  The  Lordis  wrait  unto  him 
(for  he  lay  within  two  myles  to  Sanct  Johnestoun),  "That  oneles  he  wald 
cum  and  assist  thame,  thay  nather  culd  spair  nor  save  his  place."  He 
ansuered  be  his  writing,  "That  he  wold  cum,  and  wold  do  as  thay  thoght 
expedient;  that  he  wold  assist  thame  with  his  force,  and  wald  vote  with 
thame  against  the  rest  of  the  Clargie  in  Parliament."  Bot  becaus  this 
ansuer  was  slaw  in  cuming,  the  town  of  Dundie,  partelie  offended  for  the 
slauchter  of  thair  man,  and  especiallie  bearing  no  goode  favour  to  the  said 
Bischope,  for  that  he  was  and  is  cheif  ennemy  to  Christ  Jesus,  and  that  by 
his  counsale  alone  was  Walter  Mylne  our  brother  put  to  death,  thay 
marched  fordward.  To  stay  thame  was  first  send  the  Provest  of  Dundie, 
and  his  brother  Alexander  Halyburtoun,  Capitane,  who  litill  prevaling,  was 
send  unto  thame  Johne  Knox;  bot  befoir  his  cuming,  thay  war  entered  to 
the  pulling  down  of  the  ydollis  and  dortour.  And  albeit  the  said  Maister 
James  Halyburtoun,  Alexander  his  brother,  and  the  said  Johne,  did  what  in 
thame  lay  to  have  stayed  the  furie  of  the  multitude,  yit  war  thay  nocht  able 
to  put  ordour  universalie ;  and  tharfoir  thay  send  for  the  Lordis,  Erie  of 
Ergyle,  and  Lord  James,  who,  cuming  with  all  diligence,  laboured  to  have 
saved  the  Palace  and  the  Kirk.  Bot  becaus  the  multitude  had  fundin, 
bureid  in  the  Kirk,  a  great  number  of  idollis,  hid  of  purpose  to  have 
preserved  thame  to  a  bettir  day  (as  the  Papistis  speak),  the  townis  of  Dundie 
and  Sanct  Johnestoun  culd  nocht  be  satisfeit,  till  that  the  hole  reparatioun 
and  ornamentis  of  the  Churche  (as  thay  terme  it)  war  distroyed.  And  yit 
did  the  Lordis  so  travell,  that  thay  saved  the  Bischopis  Palace,  with  the 
Churche  and  place,  for  that  nicht :  for  the  two  Lordis  did  nocht  depart  till 
thay  broclit  with  thame  the  hole  nomber  of  those  that  most  sought  the 


ABBEY  OF  SCONE.  37 

Biscliopis  displesour.  The  Bischope,  greatlie  offended  that  any  thing  should 
have  bein  interprised  in  Keformatioun  of  his  place,  asked  of  the  Lordis  his 
band  and  hand-writting,  whiche  nocht  two  houris  befoir  he  had  send  to 
thame.  Whiche  delivered  to  his  messinger,  Sir  Adame  Brown — [This  title 
indicates  his  having  been  in  Priest's  Orders] — advertisement  was  gevin, 
that  yf  any  farder  displesour  chanced  unto  him,  that  he  should  nocht  blame 
thame.  The  Bischopis  servandis,  that  same  nycht,  began  to  fortifie  the 
place  agane,  and  began  to  do  violence  to  some  that  war  careing  away  suche 
baggage  as  they  culd  cum  by.  The  Bischopis  girnell  was  keapt  the  first 
nycht  by  the  laubouris  of  Johne  Knox,  who,  by  exhortatioun,  removed  suche 
as  violentlie  wald  have  maid  irruptioun.  That  same  nycht  departed  from 
Sanct  Johnestoun,  the  Erie  of  Ergyle,  and  Lord  James,  as  efter  shalbe 
declaired. 

THE    CAUS    OF    THE    BURNING    OF    SCONE. 

The  morrow  following,  some  of  the  poore,  in  houp  of  spoyle,  and  sum 
of  Dundie,  to  considder  what  was  done,  passed  up  to  the  said  Abbay  of 
Scone;  whairat  the  Bischopis  servandis  offended,  began  to  threattene  and 
speak  proudlie;  and,  as  it  was  constantlie  affermed,  one  of  the  Bischopis 
sonis  stogged  throuch  with  a  rapper  one  of  Dundie,  for  because  he  was 
looking  in  at  the  girnell  door.  This  brute  noysed  abrode,  the  town  of 
Dundie  was  more  enraged  than  befoir,  who,  putting  thame  selffis  in  armour, 
send  word  to  the  inhabitants  of  Sanct  Johnestoun,  "  That  onles  they  should 
support  thame  to  avenge  that  injurie,  that  thai  should  never  after  that  day 
concur  with  thame  in  any  actioun."  The  multitud  easelie  inflambed,  gave 
the  alarme,  and  so  was  that  Abbay  and  Palace  appointit  to  saccage ;  in 
doing  whairof  thay  took  no  lang  deliberatioun,  bot  committed  the  hole  to 
the  merciment  of  fyre ;  wharat  no  small  nomber  of  us  war  offended,  that 
patientlie  we  culd  nocht  speak  till  any  that  war  of  Dundie  or  Sanct 
Johnestoun. 

SPEAKING    OF   ANE    ANCIENT    MATRONS-  WHEN    SCONE    WAS    BURNING. 

A  poore  aged  matrone,  seing  the  flambe  of  fyre  pass  up  sa  michtelie, 
and  perceaving  that  many  war  thairat  offended,  in  plane  and  sober  manner 
of  speaking,  said,  "Now  I  see  and  understand  that  Goddis  judgementis  ar 
just,  and  that  no  man  is  able  to  save  whare  he  will  punische.  Since  my 
remembrance,  this  place  hath  bein  nothing  ellis  bot  a  den  of  hooremongaris. 
It  is  incredible  to  beleve  how  many  wyffes  hath  bein  adulterat,  and  virginis 
deflored,  by  the  filthie  beastis  whiche  hath  bein  fostered  in  this  den;  bot 
especiallie  by  that  wicked  man  who  is  called  the  Bischope.  Yf  all  men 
knew  alsmuche  as  I,  they  wald  praise  God;  and  no  man  wald  be  offended." 
This  woman  duelt  into  the  toun,  neye  unto  the  Abbay ;  at  whose  wordis  war 
many  pacifeid;  affirming  with  hir,  that  it  was  Goddis  just  judgement.  And 
assuredly,  yf  the  laubouris  or  travell  of  any  man  cud  have  saved  that  place, 


88 


MONASTICON. 


it  had  noclit  bein  at  that  tyme  destroyed;  for  men  of  greattest  estimatioim 
lawboured  with  all  diligence  for  the  savetie  of  it.  [Knox's  Hist,  of  Refor- 
mation, Lalmjs  Edit.,  vol.  i.,  p.  359-362.] 

The  present  "Palace  of  Scone"  (as  it  is  called)  was  built 
about  the  beginning  of  this  Century,  on  the  site  of  the  old 
Palace,  at  an  expense  of  ,£70,000,  and  is  the  seat  of  the  Earl  of 
Mansfield.  There  is  no  admittance  to  the  Palace  or  Grounds, 
without  an  Order  from  Lord  Mansfield's  Agent  in  Perth.  Much 
of  the  Furniture  of  the  old  Palace  has  been  preserved  in  the  new; 
and,  among  other  Kelics,  there  are  a  Bed  used  by  James  VI., 
and  another  of  crimson  velvet,  said  to  have  been  wrought  by 
Queen  Mary  during  her  confinement  in  the  Castle  of  Loch  Leven. 

The  old  Market  Cross  of  the  ancient  Village  of  Scone — a 
narrow  upright  stone,  13  feet  high,  sculptured  at  the  top — stands 
in  the  Park  of  the  Palace.  Queen  Victoria  and  Prince  Albert 
spent  a  night  here  on  Tuesday,  September,  6th,  1842. 

The  Picture  Gallery,  160  feet  long,  occupies  the  place  of  the 
old  Coronation  Hall,  where  Charles  II.  was  Crowned  in  1651 .  The 
circumstances  of  this  Coronation  are  minutely  detailed  in  a  small 
quarto,  Printed  at  Aberdeen,  titled  "The  Form  and  Order  of  the 
Coronation  of  Charles  the  Second,  King  of  Scotland,  England, 
and  France,  and  Ireland,  as  it  was  acted  and  done  at  Scone,  the 
first  day  of  January,  1651."  Herefrom  are  given  the  particulars 

ACCORDING    TO    THE    RITUAL  .OF   THE    PRESBYTERIAN    KIRK    OF    SCOTLAND. 

First,  the  King's  Majesty,  in  a  Prince's  Kobe,  was  conducted  from  his 
Bedchamber  by  the  Constable  on -his  right  hand,  and  the  Marishal  on  his 
left  hand,  to  the  Chamber  of  Presence;  and  there  was  placed  in  a  Chaire, 
under  a  cloath  of  State,  by  the  Lord  of  Angus,  Chambeiiaine  appointed  by 
the  King  for  that  day;  and  there,  after  a  little  repose,  the  Noble-men,  with 
the  Commissioners  of  Barons  and  Burroues,  entred  the  Hall,  and  presented 
themselves  before  his  Majestie. 

Thereafter,  the  Lord  Chancellour  spoke  to  the  King  to  this  purpose : — 
•s"'> — Yow good  HiibjectH  de.fi re  You  may  be  crowned  as  the  righteous  and  lawful 
II '-ire  of  the  Croinie  of  this  Kingdome,  that  You  would  maintain  Religion,  as  it  is 
presently  professed  and  established,  confonne  to  the  National  Covenant,  League 
and  Cuminnt,  and  according  to  Your  Declaration  at  Dumfermling  in  Awjmt 
but;  J/.so  that  You  would  be  Graciously  pleased  to  receive  them  under  Your 
HtpftlMM*1  Protection;  to  govern e  them  by  Laics  of  the  Kingdome,  and  to  de- 
fend tkm  in  thnr  /,'/,//,/*  „„,/  Liberties,  by  Your  Royal  Power;  offering  them- 
selves in  most  humble  manner  to  Your  Majestie,  with  their  Voices  to  bestow  Land, 


COKONATION  OF  CHARLES  II.  89 

Life,  and  ichat  else  is  in  their  power,  for  the  maintenance  of  Religion,  for  the 
safety  of  Your  Majestie's  Sacred  Person,  and  maintenance  of  Your  Crowne, 
which  they  intreate  Your  Majesty  to  accept,  and  2)i'(ty  ALMIGHTY  GOD,  that 
for  many  years  You  may  happily  enjoy  the  same. 

The  King  made  this  answer, — I  do  esteeme  the  affections  of  my  good 
People  more  than  the  Croimes  of  many  Kingdomes,  and  shall  be  readie,  by 
GOD'S  Assistance*,  to  bestow  my  Life  in  their  Defence,  Wishing  to  live  no  longer 
then  I  may  see  Religion  and  this  Kingdome  flourish  in  all  happincsse. 

Thereafter,  the  Commissioners  of  Burroughes  and  of  Barones,  and  the 
Noble-men,  accompanied  his  Majestie  to  the  Kirk  of  Scoone,  in  order  and 
rank,  according  to  their  quality,  two  and  two. 

The  Spurres  being  carried  by  the  Earle  of  Eglintoun. 

Next,  the  Sword  by  the  Earle  of  Eothes. 

Then  the  Sceptre  by  the  Earle  of  Craufurd  and  Lindesay. 

And  the  Crown  by  the  Marques  of  Argile,  immediately  before  the  King. 

Then  came  the  King,  with  the  great  Constable  on  his  right  hand,  and 
the  great  Marishal  on  his  left  hand;  his  train  being  carried  by  the  Lord 
Ereskine,  the  Lord  Montgomery,  the  Lord  Newbottle,  and  the  Lord  Mach- 
lene,  four  Earles'  eldest  sonnes,  under  a  Canopie  of  Crimson  Velvet, 
supported  by  six  Earles'  sonnes — to  wit,  the  Lord  Drummond,  the  Lord 
Carnegie,  the  Lord  Ramsay,  the  Lord  Johnston,  the  Lord  Brechin,  the  Lord 
Yester;  and  the  six  carriers  supported  by  six  Noblemen's  sonnes. 

Thus  the  King's  Majestie  entereth  the  Kirk. 

The  Kirk  being  fitted,  and  prepared  with  a  Table,  whereupon  the 
Honours  were  laid,  and  a  Chaire  set  in  a  fitting  place  for  his  Majestie's 
hearing  of  Sermon,  over  against  the  Minister,  and  another  Chaire  on  the 
other  side,  where  he  sat  when  he  received  the  Crown,  before  which  there  was 
a  Bench  decently  covered,  as  also  Seats  about  for  Noble-men,  Barons,  and 
Burgesses. 

And  there  being  also  a  Stage,  in  a  fit  place  erected,  of  24  foot  square, 
about  four  foot  high  from  the  ground,  covered  with  Carpets,  with  two  stairs, 
one  from  the  West,  and  another  to  the  East;  upon  which  great  Stage  there 
was  another  little  Stage  erected,  some  two  foot  high,  ascending  by  two  steps, 
on  which  the  Throne  or  Chaire  of  State  was  set. 

The  Kirk  thus  fittingly  prepared,  the  King's  Majesty  entereth  the  same, 
accompanied  as  aforesaid,  and  first  setteth  himself  in  his  Chaire,  for  hearing 
of  Sermon. 

All  being  quietly  composed  unto  attention,  Master  ROBERT 
DOUGLAS,  Moderator  of  the  Commission  of  the  General  Assemblies,  after 
calling  upon  GOD  by  Prayer,  preached  the  following  SERMON : — 

2  Kings  xi.,  vers.  12, 17. 

And  he  brought  forth  the  Kincfs  sonne,  and  put  the  Crowne  upon  him,  and 
gave  him  the  Testitnonie;  and  they  made  him  King,  and  anointed  him,  and  they 
clapt  their  hands,  and  said,  God  save  the  King. 

And  Jehojada  made  a  Covenant  between  the  Lord  and  the  King,  and  the 
people,  that  they  should  be  the  Lord's  people;  between  the  King  also  and  the  people. 

Another  exemple  I  give  You,  yet  in  recent  memory,  of  Your  grand- 
father, King  James.  He  fell  to  be  very  young,  in  a  time  full  of  difficulties, 


40  MONASTICON. 

yet  there  was  a  godly  party  in  the  land,  who  did  put  the  Crown  upon  his 
haed.  And  when  he  came  to  some  years,  He  and  his  people  entered  in  a 
Covenant  with  God.  He  was  much  commended  by  godly  and  faithful  men, 
comparing  him  to  young  Josiah  standing  at  the  Altar,  renewing  a  Covenant 
with  GOD.  And  he  himself  did  thank  GOD  that  he  was  born  in  a  Keformed 
kirk;  better  reformed  then  England,  for  they  retained  many  popish  cere- 
monies; yea,  better  reformed  then  Geneva,  for  they  kept-  some  holy  dayes; 
Charging  his  people  to  be  constant,  and  promising  himself  to  continue  in 
that  ^Reformation,  and  to  maintain  the  same.  Notwithstanding  all  this,  he 
made  a  foule  defection ;  He  remembred  not  the  kindnesse  of  them  who  had 
held  the  crown  upon  his  head;  yea,  he  persecuted  faithful  Ministers  for 
opposing  that  course  of  defection.  He  never  rested  till  he  had  undone 
Presbyterial  Government,  and  kirk  Assemblies,  setting  up  Bishops,  and 
bringing  in  Ceremonies,  against  which  formerly  he  had  given  large  testimony. 
In  a  word,  he  layd  the  foundation,  whereupon  his  sonne,  our  late  King,  did 
build  much  mischiefe  to  Keligion,  all  the  dayes  of  his  life. 

Sir,  I  lay  this  exemple  before  You,  the  rather  because  it  is  so  near 
You,  that  the  guiltiness  of  the  transgression  lyeth  upon  the  Throne  and 
Family,  and  it  is  one  of  the  sinnes  for  which  you  have  professed  humiliation 
very  lately.  Let  it  be  laid  to  heart,  take  warning,  requite  not  faithful  men's 
kindnes  with  persecution;  yea,  requite  not  the  LOKD  so,  who  hath 
preserved  You  to  this  time,  and  is  setting  a  Crown  upon  your  head ;  Kequite 
not  the  LOED  so,  with  Apostasie  and  Defection  from  a  sworn  Covenant ;  But 
be  steadfast  in  the  Covenant,  as  You  would  give  Testimony  of  Your  true 
Humiliation  for  the  Defection  of  these  that  went  before  You. 

I  have  set  up  these  two  exemples  before  you,  as  beacons  to  warne  you 
to  keep  off  such  dangerous  courses,  and  shall  add  one  for  imitation,  which, 
if  followed,  may  happily  bring  with  it  the  blessing  of  that  godly  man's 
adherence  to  God.  The  exemple  is  of  Hezekiah,  who  did  that  which  was  right 
in  the  sight  of  the  Lord.  (2  Kings,  xviii.  5-6.)  It  is  said  of  him,  He  trusted 
in  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  and  he  clave  unto  the  Lord,  and  departed  not  from 
following  him,  but  kept  his  Commandments.  And  verse  7,  The  LOED  was  with 
him,  and  lie  prospered  wither  soever  he  went  forth. 

Sir,  follow  this  example,  cleave  unto  the  LOED,  and  depart  not  from 
following  him,  and  the  LOED  will  be  with  You,  and  prosper  You  wither 
soever  You  go.  To  this  LOED,  from  whom  we  expect  a  blessing  upon  this 
daye's  work,  be  glory  and  praise  for  ever.  Amen. 


EEMON  being  ended,  Prayer  was  made  for  a  Blessing  upon  the  Doctrine 
delivered. 


S 

The  King  being  to  renew  the  Covenants — first  the  National  Covenant, 
then  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant,  were  distinctly  read. 

After  the  reading  of  these  Covenants,  the  Minister  prayed  for  grace,  to 
perform  the  contents  of  the  Covenants,  and  for  faithful  steadfastnesse  in  the 
Oath  of  GOD;  And  then  (the  Ministers'  Commissioners  of  the  General 
Assembly  desired  to  be  present,  standing  before  the  Pulpit)  he  ministred  the 
Oath  unto  the  King,  who,  kneeling,  and  lifting  up  his  right  hand,  did  swear 
in  the  words  following : — 

I,  Charles,  Kintj  of  Great  Britain,  France,  and  Ireland,  do  assure  and 
declart,  by  /////  Solemn  Oath,  in  the  presence  of  Almighty  GOD,  the  Searcher  of 
mi/  attawn*  and  approbation  of  the  National  Covenant,  and  of  the 


COEONATION  OF  CHAELES  II.  41 

Solemn  League  and  Covenant  above- written,  and  faithfully  obliedge  my  self  to 
prosecute  the  ends  thereof,  in  my  Station  and  Calling;  and  that  I,  for  myself  and 
successours,  shall  consent  and  agree  to  all  Acts  of  Parliament  enjoyning  the 
National  Covenant,  and  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant,  and  fully  establishing 
Presbyterial  Governments,  the  Directory  of  Worship,  Confession  of  Faith,  and 
Catechismes  in  the  Kingdomes  of  Scotland,  as  they  are  approven  by  the  General 
Assemblies  of  this  Kirk,  and  Parliaments  of.  this  Kingdom;  And  that  I  shall  give 
my  Royal  Assent  to  Acts  and  Ordinances  of  Parliament  passed,  or  to  be  passed, 
enjoyning  the  same  in  my  other  Dominions;  And  that  I  shall  observe  these  in  my 
own  practice  and  Familie,  and  shall  never  make  opposition  to  any  of  these,  or 
endeavour  any  change  thereof. 

After  the  King  had  thus  Solemnly  sworne  the  National  Covenant,  the 
League  and  Covenant,  and  the  King's  Oath,  subjoyned  unto  both  being 
drawne  up  in  a  fayre  Parchment,  the  King  did  subscribe  the  same,  in 
presence  of  all. 

Thereafter,  the  King  ascendeth  the  Stage,  and  sitteth  down  in  the 
Chaire  of  State. 

Then  the  Lords,  Great  Constable,  and  Marischal,  went  to  the  four 
corners  of  the  Stage,  with  the  Lyon  going  before  them,  who  spoke  to  the 
people  these  words — Sirs,  I  do  present  unto  you  the  King,  CHARLES,  the 
Rightful  and  Undoubted  Heir  of  the  Croune  and  Dignity  of  this  Realm:  This  day 
is  by  the  Parliament  of  this  Kingdom  appointed  for  his  Coronation,  And  are  you 
not  willing  to  have  him  for  your  King,  and  become  subject  to  his  Commandments? 

In  which  action,  the  King's  Majestie  stood  up,  showing  himself  to  the 
people  in  each  corner;  And  the  people  expressed  their  willingnesse  by 
chearful  acclamations  in  these  words,  GOD  SAVE  THE  KING,  CHAELES 
THE  SECOND. 

Thereafter,  the  King's  Majesty,  supported  by  the  Constable  and 
Marishal,  commeth  down  from  the  Stage,  and  sitteth  down  in  the  Chaire, 
where  he  heard  the  Sermon. 

The  Minister,  accompanied  with  the  Ministers  before  mentioned, 
cometh  from  the  Pulpit  toward  the  King,  and  requireth,  If  he  was  willing  to 
take  the  Oath  appointed  to  be  taken  at  the  Coronation. 

The  King  answered  he  was  most  willing. 

Then  the  Oath  of  Coronation,  as  it  is  contained  in  the  eight  Act  of  the 
first  Parliament  of  King  James,  being  read  by  the  Lion,  the  Tenour  whereof 
followeth : 

Because,  that  the  increase  of  Virtue,  and  suppressing  of  Idolatrie,  craveth 
that  the  Prince  and  the  people  be  of  one  perfect  Religion,  which  of  God's  Mercie  is 
now  presently  iwofcssed  within  this  Realm,  therefore  it  is  statuted  and  ordained  by 
our  Soveraigne  Lord,  my  Lord  Regent,  and  three  Estates  of  this  present  Parlia- 
ment, that  all  Kings,  Princes,  and  Magistrates  whatsoever,  holding  their  place, 
which  hereafter  at  any  time  shall  happen  to  Reigne,  and  bear  rule  over  this  Realme, 
at  the  time  of  their  Coronation,  and  receat  of  their  Princely  Authority,  make  their 
Faithful  promise,  in  presence  of  the  Eternal  GOD ;  That  enduring  the  whole 
course  of  their  lives  they  shall  serve  the  same  Eternal  GOD,  to  the  uttermost  of 
tiieir  power,  according  as  he  hath  required  in  His  Most  Holy  Word,  revealed  and 
contained  in  the  New  and  Old  Testaments;  and,  according  to  the  same  Word, 
shall  maintain  the  true  Religion  of  CHRIST  JESUS,  the  preaching  of  His  Holy 
Word,  and  due  and  right  ministration  of  the  Sacraments  now  receaved,  and 
preached  within  this  Realme.  And  shall  abolish  and  gainstand  all  false  religions, 

VOL.    I.  F 


42  MONASTICON. 

contrary  to  the  same.  And  shall  rule  the  people  committed  to  their  charge  accord- 
ing to  the  will  and  command  of  GOD  revealed  in  His  foresaid  Word,  and 
according  to  the  LoveaUe  Lawes  and  Constitutions  receaved  in  this  Realm,  no 
u-ayes  repugnant  to  the  said  Word  of  the  Eternal  GOD;  And  shall  procure  to  the 
uttermost  of  their  pou-er,  to  the  kirk  of  GOD  and  whole  Christian  people,  true  and 
perfect  peace  in  time  coming.  The  Eights  and  Rents,  icith  all  just  Priviledges  of 
the  Croicn  of  Scotland,  to  preserve  and  keep  inviolated;  Neither  shall  they  transfer 
nor  alienate  the  same.  They  shall  forbid  and  represse  in  all  Estates  and  degrees, 
Rease,  Oppression,  and  all  kind  of  wrong:  In  all  judgements  they  shall  command 
and  procure  that  justice  and  equity  be  keeped  to  all  creatures,  mtliout  exception, 
as  the  LORD  and  Father  of  Mercies  be  merciful  unto  them;  and  out  of  their 
lands  and  impyres  they  shall  be  careful  to  roote  out  all  Hereticks,  and  enemies  to 
the  True  Worship  of  GOD,  that  shall  be  convict  ly  the  true  Kirk  of  GOD,  of 
the  foresaid  crimes;  And  that  they  shall  faithfully  affirme  the  things  above 
uritten,  by  their  Solemn  Oath. 

The  Minister  tendered  the  Oath  unto  the  King,  who,  kneeling,  and 
holding  up  his  right  hand,  sware  in  these  words — By  the  Eternal  and  Almighty 
GOD,  Who  liveth  and  reignethfor  ever,  I  shall  observe  and  keep  all  that  is  con- 
tained in  this  Oath. 

This  done,  the  King's  Majesty  sitteth  down  in  his  Chaire,  and  reposeth 
himself  a  little. 

Then  the  King  ariseth  from  his  Chaire,  and  is  disrobed,  by  the  Lord 
Great  Chamberlain,  of  the  Princely  Eobe,  wherewith  he  entered  the  kirk, 
and  is  invested  by  the  said  Chamberlain  in  his  Royal  Robes. 

Thereafter,  the  King  being  brought  to  the  Chaire  on  the  North  side  of 
the  kirk,  supported  as  formerly,  the  Sword  was  brought  by  Sir  William 
Cockburne,  of  Langtown,  Gentleman  Usher,  from  the  table,  and  delivered 
to  the  Lyon  King  of  Arms,  who  giveth  it  to  the  Lord  Great  Constable,  who 
putteth  the  same  in  the  King's  hand,  saying — Sir,  Receare  this  kingly  Sword 
for  the  defence  of  the  Faith  of  CHRIST,  and  protection  of  His  kirk,  and  of  the 
true  Religion,  as  it  is  presently  prof essed  within  this  kingdome,  and  according  to 
the  National  Covenant,  and  League  and  Covenant,  and  for  executing  Equitie  and 
Justice,  andforjmnishment  of  all  iniquity  and  injustice. 

This  done,  the  Great  Constable  receaveth  the  Sword  from  the  King, 
and  girdeth  the  same  about  his  side. 

Thereafter,  the  King  sitteth  down  in  his  Chaire,  and  then  the  Spurres 
were  put  on  him  by  the  Earle  Marishal. 

Thereafter,  Archibald,  Marquis  of  Argile,  having  taken  the  Crown  in  his 
hands,  the  Minister  prayed  to  this  purpose  : 

That  the  LORD  would  purge  the  Croicn  from  the  sinnes  and  transgressions 
of  them  that  <li<l  >-<>igne  before  Him,  that  it  might  be  a  pure  Crou'ne;  that  GOD 
would  settle  the  Crou-n  upon  the  Kings  head;  And  since  men  that  set  it  on  were 
not  able  to  settle  it,  that  the  LORD  would  put  it  on  and  preserve  it.  And  then 
the  said  Marquis  put  the  Crown  on  the  King's  head. 

Which  done,  the  Lyon  King  of  Armes,  the  Great  Constable  standing  by 

an,  causeth  an  Herauld  to  call  the  whole  Noblemen,  one  by  one,  according 

;heir  ranks  ;  who  comming  before  the  King  kneeling,  and  with  their  hand 

ouching  the  Crown  on  the  King's  head,  sware  these  words— By  the  Eternal 

Almighty  GOD,  who  Uccth  and  reignethfor  ever,  I  shall  support  thee  to  mij 
rmost.     And  when  they  had  done,  then  all  the  Nobility  held  up  their 
hands,  and  su-are  to  be  loyal  and  true  subjects,  and  faithful  to  the  Crown. 


COKONATION  OF  CHAELES  II.  43 

The  Earle  Marislial,  with  the  Lion,  going  to  the  four  corners  of  the 
Stage,  the  Lion  proclaimed  the  Obligatory  Oath  of  the  people;  And  the 
people  holding  up  their  hands  all  the  time,  did  swear  by  the  Eternal  and 
Almighty  GOD,  who  Uvcth  and  reignetli  for  ever,  ice  become  your  Hedge  men,  and 
truth  and  Faith  shall  bear  unto  you,  and  live  and  die  idth  you,  against  all 
manner  of  folkes  whatsoever,  in  your  service,  according  to  the  National  Covenant, 
and  Solemn  League  and  Covenant. 

Then  did  the  Earls  and  Viscounts  put  on  their  crowns;  and  the  Lion 
likewise  put  on  his. 

Then  did  the  Lord  Chamberlain  loose  the  Sword  wherewith  the  King 
was  girded,  and  draw  it,  and  delivered  it  drawn  into  the  King's  hands;  and 
the  King  put  it  in  the  hands  of  the  Great  Constable,  to  carry  it  naked 
before  him. 

Then  John,  Earle  of  Craufurd  and  Lindsay,  took  the  Scepter,  and  put 
it  into  the  King's  right  hand,  saying — Sir,  Eeceave  this  Scepter,  the  sign  of 
Royal  Power  of  the  kingdome,  that  you  may  Govern  your  self  right,  and  defend 
all  the  Christian  People  committed  by  GOD  to  your  charge,  punishing  the  wicked, 
and  protecting  the  just. 

Then  did  the  King  ascend  the  Stage,  attended  by  the  officers  of  the 
Crown  and  Nobility,  and  was  installed  in  the  Eoyal  Throne  by  Archibald, 
Marquis  of  Argyle,  saying — Stand  and  hold  fast  from  hence  forth  the  place 
whereof  you  are  the  lawful  and  righteous  Heir,  by  a  long  and  lineal  succession  of 
your  fathers,  which  is  now  delivered  unto  you,  by  authority  of  Almighty  GOD. 

When  the  King  was  set  down  upon  the  Throne,  the  Minister  spoke  to 
him  a  word  of  Exhortation,  as  followeth : 

Sir,  You  are  set  down  upon  the  Throne  in  a  very  difficil  time;  I  shall  therefore 
put  you  in  mind  of  a  Scriptural  expression  of  a  throne.  1  Chron.  xxix.  23,  it 
is  said,  Solomon  sate  on  the  throne  of  the  LORD.  Sir,  you  are  a  King,  and  a 
King  in  covenant  with  the  LORD;  If  you  would  have  the  LORD  to  own  you  to 
be  his  king,  and  your  throne  to  be  his  throne,  I  desire  you  may  have  some  thought 
of  this  expression. 

1.  It  is  the  LORD'S  throne.      Remember  you  have  a  king  above  you,  the 
king  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  Lords,  who  commandeth  thrones;  He  setteth  kings  on 
thrones,  and  dethroneth  them  at  His  pleasure;  Therefore  take  a  word  of  advice, 
Be  thankful  to  him  who  hath  brought  you  thorow  many  wanderings  to  set  you  on 
this  throne:  Kisse  the  Sonne,  lest  He  be  angrie;  and  learne  to  serve  Him  with 
fear,  who  is  terrible  to  the  kings  of  the  earth. 

2.  Your  throne  is   the  LORD'S  Throne;  and  your  people  the  LORD'S 
people.     Let  not  your  heart  be  lifted  up  above  your  Brethren.     (Deutr.  xvii.  20.^ 
They  are  your  brethren,  not  only  flesh  of  your  flesh,  but  brethren  by  Covenant 
u'ith  GOD.     Let  your  Government  be  refreshing  unto  them,  as  the  rain  on  the 
mowen  grasse. 

3.  Your  throne  is  the  LORD'S  Throne.     Beware  of  making  his  throne  a 
throne  of  iniquity;  there  is  such  a  throne.      (Psalm  xciv.  20. )      Which  frameth 
mischief  by  a  Law,  GOD  will  not  own  such  a  throne;  It  hath  no  fellowship  with 
Him.     Sir,  there  is  too  much  iniquitie  upon  the  throne,  by  your  predecessours, 
who  framed  mischief e  by  a  Law;  such  Laws  as  have  been  destructive  to  Religion, 
and  grievous   to   the  LORD'S  People.     You  are  on  the  throne,  and  have  the 
Scepter,  beware  of  touching  mischievous  Lawes  therewith;  But  as  the  throne  is 
the  LORD'S  throne,  let' the  Lawes  be  the  LORD's  Lawes,  agreeable  to  His 
Word,  such  as  are  terrible  to  evil  doers,  and  comfortable  to   the  Godly,  and  a 
reliefe  to  the  Poor  and  oppressed  in  the  Land. 


44  MONASTICON. 

4.  The  LOED'S  throne  puttctli  you  in  mind  whom  you  should  have  above 
the  throne.     Wicked  Counsellours  are  not  for  a  king  upon  the  LOED'S  throne, 
Solomon  knew  this,  who  said  (Prov.  xxv.  5),  Take  away  the  wicked  from  before 
the  King,  and  his  throne  shall  be  established  in  Eighteousnesse ;  And  Prov. 
20,  ver.  8,  A  king  upon  the  throne,  scattereth  away  all  evil  with  his  eyes. 

5.  The  LOED'S  throne  putteth  you  in  mind  that  the  Judgements  on  the 
throne  should  be  th'e  Lords.    Take  the  exhortation  (Jer.  ncxii.),  From  the  beginning 
the  Prophet  hath  a  command  to  go  to  the  house  of  the  king  of  Judah,  and  say: 
Hear  the  Word  of  the  LOBD,  0  King  of  Judah,  that  sitteth  upon  the 
throne,  and  thy  servants  and  thy  people;    Execute  ye  judgement,    and 
righteousnesse,  and  deliver  the  spoiled  out  of  the  hand  of  the  oppressour ; 
and  do  no  wrong,  do  no  violence  to  the  stranger,  the  fatherless,  nor  the 
widow,  neither  shed  innocent  blood  in  this  place.      If  ye  do  this  thing 
indeed,  then  shall  there  enter  by  the  gates  of  this  house  kings  sitting  upon 
the  throne  of  David.      But  if  ye  will  not  hear  these  Words,  I  swear  by  My 
Self,  sayeth  the  Lord,  this  house  shall  become  a  desolation.      And  ver.  -7,  I 
will  prepare  destroyers  against  thee. 

Sir,  Destroyers  are  prepared  for  the  injustice  of  the  throne.  I  intreat  you, 
execute  Righteous  judgement.  If  yon  doe  it  not,  your  house  will  be  a  Desolation ; 
But  if  you  do  that  ichich  is  right,  GOD  shall  remove  the  destroyers,  and  yon  shall 
be  established  on  your  throne;  And  there  shall  yet  be  Dignitie  in  your  House,  for 
your  servants  and  for  your  people. 

Lastly,  If  your  Throne  be  the  Throne  of  the  LOED,  Take  a  word  of 
encouragement  against  Throne  Adversaries.  Your  enemies  are  the  enemies  of 
the  LORD'S  Throne:  Make  your  peace  with  GOD  in  CHRIST,  and  the  LORD 
shall  scatter  your  enemies  from  the  throne;  And  He  shall  maynijie  you  yet  in  the 
sight  of  these  Nations,  and  make  the  misled  People  submit  themselves  willingly  to 
Your  Government. 

SIR,  If  You  use  well  the  LORD'S  Throne,  on  ichich  you  are  set,  then  the 
two  words  in  the  place  cited  (1  Chron.  xxix.  23),  Spoken  of  Solomon  sitting  on 
the  Throne  of  the  LOED,  He  prospered,  and  all  Israel  obeyed  him,  shall 
belong  unto  you.  Your  People  shall  obey  you,  in  the  LOED;  and  you  shall 
prosper  in  the  sight  of  the  Nations  round  about. 

Then  the  Lord  Chancellour  went  to  the  four  corners  of  the  Stage,  the 
Lyon  King  of  Armes  going  before  him,  and  proclaimed  his  Majestie's  free 
Pardon  to  all  Breakers  of  Penal  Statutes,  and  made  offer  thereof,  whereupon 
the  People  cryed,  GOD  save  the  King. 

Then  the  King,  supported  by  the  Great  Constable  and  Marishal,  and 
accompanied  with  the  Chancellour,  arose  from  the  Throne,  and  went  out  at 
a  door  prepared  for  the  purpose,  to  a  Stage,  and  showed  himself  to  the 
People  without,  who  clapped  with  their  hands,  and  cried  with  a  lowd  voice 
a  long  time,  GOD  save  the  King. 

Then  the  King,  returning  and  sitting  down  upon  the  Throne,  delivered 
the  Scepter  to  the  Eaiie  of  Craufurd  and  Lindsay,  to  be  carried  before  him; 
thereafter, 'the  Lyon  King  of  Armes  rehearsed  the  Eoyal  Line  of  the  Kings 
upward  to  Fergus  the  First. 

Then  the  Lion  called  the  Lords  one  by  one,  who,  kneeling,  and  holding 
their  hands  betwixt  the  King's  hands,  did  sweare  these  words — By  the 
Internal  and  Almighty  GOD,  who  liveth  and  rcigneth  for  ever,  I  do  become  your 
Liedge  man,  and  Truth  and  Faith  shall  beare  unto  you,  and  live  and  die  with 
you,  against  all  manner  of  Folkes  whatsoever,  in  your  service,  accord  UK/  to  the 
National  Covenant,  and  Solemn  League  and  Cocenant. 


CORONATION  OF  CHARLES  II.  45 

And  every  one  of  them  kissed  the  King's  left  cheek. 

When  these  Solemnities  were  ended,  the  Minister,  standing  before  the 
King  on  his  Throne,  pronounced  this  Blessing: 

The  Lord  bless  thee,  and  save  tlice;  the  Lord  hcarc  thee  in  the  day  of  trouble; 
the  Name  of  the  God  of  Jacob  defend  thee;  the  Lord  send  thee  helpe  from  the 
Sanctuary,  and  strengthen  thee  out  of  Sion.  Amen. 

After  the  Blessing  pronounced,  the  Minister  went  to  the  Pulpit,  and 
had  the  following  Exhortation,  the  King  sitting  still  upon  the  Throne.  Ye 
have  this  day  a  King  crowned,  and  entered  into  a  Covenant  with  GOD  and 
His  People:  look  both  King  and  People  that  ye  keep  this  Covenant,  and 
beware  of  the  breach  of  it;  that  ye  may  be  the  more  careful  to  keep  it,  I 
will  lay  a  few  things  before  you. 

I  remember  when  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant  was  entered  by 
both  Nations.  The  Commissionars  from  England  being  present  in  the  East 
Kirk  of  Edinburgh,  a"  passage  wTas  cited  out  of  NeJieni.  r.  13,  which  I  shall 
now«  again  cite,  Xehemiah  required  an  Oath  of  the  Nobles  and  people  to 
restore  the  mortgaged  lands,  which  they  promised  to  do.  After  the  Oath 
was  rendered,  in  the  13th  verse,  he  did  shake  his  lap,  and  said,  So  God 
shake  out  every  man  from  his  house,  and  from  his  labour,  that  performcth  not  his 
promise,  even  thus  be  he  shaken  out  and  emptied;  and  all  the  Congregation  said 
Amen. 

Since  that  time,  many  of  these  who  were  in  Covenant,  are  shaken  out 
of  it ;  yea,  they  have  shaken  of  the  Covenant,  and  laid  it  aside.  It  is  true, 
they  are  prospering  this  day,  and  think  that  they  prosper  by  laying  aside 
the  Covenant ;  but  they  will  be  deceaved, — that  word  spoken  then  shall  not 
fall  to  the  ground;  GOD  shall  shake  them  out  of  their  possession,  and 
empty  them  for  their  perfidious  breach  of  Covenant. 

The  same  I  say  to  King  and  Nobles,  and  all  that  are  in  Covenant.  If 
you  break  that  Covenant,  being  so  solemnly  sworn,  all  these  who  have 
touched  your  Crown,  and  sworn  to  support  it,  shall  not  be  able  to  hold  it 
on;  but  GOD  will  shake  it  off,  and  turn  you  from  the  throne.  And  ye 
Noble-men,  who  are  assistant  to  the  putting  on  of  the  Crown,  and  setting 
the  King  upon  the  Throne,  if  ye  shall  either  assist  or  advise  the  King  to 
break  the  Covenant,  and  overturne  the  Word  of  God,  he  shall  shake  you  out 
of  your  possessions,  and  empty  you  of  all  your  glory. 

Another  passage  I  offer  to  your  serious  consideration  (Jer.  xxxiv.  8). 
After  that  Zcdeldah  had  promised  to  proclaims  liberty  to  all  the  LORD'S 
People  who  were  servants,  and  entered  into  a  Covenant,  he  and  his  Princes, 
to  let  them  go  free,  and  according  to  the  Oath  had  let  them  go  ;  Afterwards 
they  caused  the  servants  to  return,  and  brought  them  into  subjection. 
Verse  11,  What  followed  upon  this  breach?  Verse  15-16,  Ye  were  non- 
turned,  and  had  done  right  in  mi/  sight  in •  proclaiming  libertie;  but  ye  turned,  and 
made  them  servants  again.  And  therefore,  verse  18,  19,  20,  21,  I  will  give  the 
men  who  have  transgressed  3Iy  Covenant,  who  have  not  performed  the  Words  of 
the  Covenant  which  they  made  before  Me,  when  they  cut  the  calf  in  tivain,  and 
passed  between  the  parts  thereof,  I  icill  even  give  them  into  the  hands  of  their 
enemies,  into  the  hand  of  them  that  seek  their  life,  even  Zedekiah  and  his  Princes. 

If  the  breach  of  a  Covenant  made  for  the  Liberty  of  Servants  was  so 
punished,  what  shall  be  the  punishment  of  the  breach  of  Covenant  for 
Religion,  and  the  Liberty  of  the  people  of  GOD  ?  There  is  nothing  more 
terrible  to  King  and  Princes  then  to  be  given  into  the  hand  of  enemies  that 


46  MONASTICON. 

seek  their  life.  If  ye  would  escape  this  judgment,  let  King  and  Princes  keep 
their  Covenant  made  with  GOD.  Your  enemies  who  seek  your  life  are  in 
the  land:  if  ye  break  the  Covenant,  it  may  be  feared  GOD  will  give  you  over 
unto  them  as  a  prey;  But  if  ye  keep  Covenant,  it  may  be  expected  GOD  will 
keep  you  out  of  their  hands. 

Let  not  the  place  ye  heard  opened  be  forgotten,  for  in  it  ye  have  an 
exemple  of  Divine  Justice  against  Joash  and  the  Princes,  for  breaking  that 
COVENANT.  (2  Chron.  xxiv.  23.)  The  Princes  who  intised  that  breach 
are  destroyed;  and  in  the  24th  verse  it  is  said,  The  army  of  the  Syrians  came 
with  a  small  company  of  men,  and  the  LORD  delivered  a  very  great  hoste  in  their 
hand,  became  they  had  forsaken  the  LOED  GOD  of  their  fathers;  So  they 
executed  judgement  against  Joash.  And  verse  25,  His  own  servants  conspired 
against  him,  and  slew  him  on  his  bed,  d'C. 

The  Conspiracy  of  Servants  or  Subjects  against  their  King  is  a  wicked 
course;  But  GOD  in  His  Kighteous  judgment  sufi'ereth  Subjects  to  conspire 
and  rebel  against  their  Princes,  because  they  rebel  against  GOD  ;  And  He 
suffereth  Subjects  to  break  the  Covenant  made  with  a  king,  because  he 
breaketh  the  Covenant  made  with  GOD.  I  may  say  freely  that  a  chief 
cause  of  the  judgment  upon  the  King's  house,  hath  been  the  Grand-father's 
breach  of  Covenant  with  God,  and  his  Kirk  within  these  kingdoms ;  they 
broke  Covenant  with  GOD,  and  men  have  broken  Covenant  with  them; 
Yea,  most  cruelly  and  perfidiously  have  invaded  the  Eoyal  Family,  and 
trodden  upon  all  Princely  Dignity. 

Be  wise  by  their  exemple.  You  are  now  sitting  upon  the  Throne  of 
the  kingdom,  and  your  Nobles  about  you.  There  is  one  above  you,  even 
JESUS,  the  King  of  Sion,  and  I,  as  His  servant,  dare  not  but  be  free  with 
you.  I  charge  you,  Sir,  in  His  name,  that  you  keep  the  Covenant  in  all 
points.  If  you  shall  break  this  Covenant,  and  come  against  His  Cause,  I 
assure  you,  the  Contraversie  is  not  ended  between  GOD  and  your  family, 
but  will  be  carried  on  to  the  further  weakening,  if  not  the  overthrow  of  it ; 
But  if  you  shall  keep  this  Covenant,  and  befriend  the  Kingdom  of  CHRIST, 
it  may  be  from  this  day  GOD  shall  begin  to  do  you  good.  Although  your 
estate  be  very  weak,  GOD  is  able  to  raise  you,  and  make  you  reign,  maugre 
the  opposition  of  all  your  enemies.  And  howsoever  it  shall  please  the 
LORD  to  dispose,  you  shall  have  peace  toward  GOD,  through  CHRIST  the 
Mediator. 

As  for  you  who  are  Nobles  and  Peeres  of  the  Land,  your  share  is  great 
in  this  day  of  Coronation;  ye  have  come  and  touched  the  Crowne,  and 
sworn  to  support  it,  ye  have  handled  the  Sword  and  Scepter,  and  have  set 
down  the  King  upon  his  Throne. 

1.  I  charge  you  to  keep  your  Covenant  with  GOD,  and  see  that  ye 
never  be  moved  your  selves  to  come  against  it  in  any  head  or  article  thereof, 
and  that  ye  give  no  counsel  to  the  King  to  come  against  the  Doctrine, 
Worship,  Government,  and  Discipline  of  the  Kirk,  established  in  this  Land, 
as  ye  would  eschew  the  judgement  of  Covenant  breakers.  If  the  King,  and 
ye  who  are  engaged  to  support  the  Crowne,  conspire  together  against  the 
kingdom  of  CHRIST,  both  ye  that  do  support,  and  he  that  is  supported, 
will  fall  together.  I  presse  this  the  more,  because  it  is  a  rare  thing  to  see  a 
King  and  great  men  for  CHRIST.  In  the  long  Catalogue  of  Kings,  which 
ye  have  heard  recited  this  day,  they  will  be  found  few  who  have  been  for 
Christ. 


ABBEY  OF  LOCH  TAY.  47 

2.  I  charge  you  also,  because  of  your  many  Oathes  to  the  King,  that 
you  keep  them  inviolably.  Be  faithful  to  him,  according  to  your  Covenant 
— the  Oathes  of  GOD  are  upon  you.  If  directly,  or  indirectly,  ye  do  any 
thing  against  his  standing,  GOD,  by  whom  ye  have  sworne,  will  be  avenged 
upon  you,  for  the  breach  of  his  Oath. 

And  now  I  will  shut  up  all  with  one  word  more  to  You.  Sir,  You  are 
the  only  Covenanted  King  with  God  and  his  People  in  the  world.  Many 
have  obstructed  Your  entry  in  it.  Now,  seing  the  Lord  has  brought  You 
in  over  all  these  Obstructions,  only  observe  to  do  what  is  contained  therein, 
and  it  shall  prove  an  happy  time  for  You  and  Your  House.  And  because 
You  have  entered  in  times  of  great  Difficultie,  wherein  small  strength 
seemeth  to  remain  with  You  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  for  recovering  your 
just  power  and  greatnesse,  therefore  take  the  Counsel  which  David  when  he 
was  a-dying,  gave  to  his  sonne  Solomon.  (1  King  ii.  2-3.)  Be  strong,  and 
show  thyself  a  man;  and  keep  the  Charge  of  the  Lord  thy  GOD,  to  icalke  in  Jiis 
Wayes,  and  keep  his  Commandments,  that  thou  mayest  prosper  in  all  that  thou 
doest,  and  whether  soever  thou  turncst  thy  self. 

After  this  Exhortation,  the  Minister  closeth  the  whole  Action  with 
Prayer ;  and  the  20th  Psalm  being  sung,  he  dismissed  the  People  with  the 
Blessing. 

Then  did  the  King's  Majesty  descend  from  the  Stage,  with  the  Crown 
upon  his  head ;  and  receaving  again  the  Scepter  in  his  hand,  returned  with 
his  whole  Train,  in  solemn  manner,  to  his  Palace — the  Sword  being  carried 
before  him. 

THE  VALUATION  OF  THE  ABBEY  OF  SCONE. 

Money,  £1140  6s  6$d.  Wheat,  16  Chalders,  2  Firlots ;  Bear,  73  Chal- 
ders,  12  Bolls,  2  Firlots,  2  Pecks ;  Meal,  62  Chalders ;  Oats,  18  Chalders,  3 
Bolls  ;  Salmon,  1  Last. 

Of  this  Kent,  the  Book  of  Assumption  says,  there  is  assigned 
to  the  Convent,  consisting  of  18  persons,  the  Prior  having  double 
allow : — 

Money,  £352  3s  4rf.  Wheat,  6  Chalders,  12  Bolls ;  Meal,  7  Chalders, 
1  Boll,  3  Firlots ;  Bear,  22  Chalders,  12  Bolls,  2  Firlots. 


II.  LOCH  TAY,     A.D.  1122,         (No  Seal.) 

Was  founded  by  King  Alexander  I.  in  1122,  and  was  a  Cell 
or  Priory  belonging  to  Scone.  The  Kuins  upon  the  Isle,  now 
almost  shapeless,  and  overgrown  with  wood,  rose  at  one  time 
into  the  towers  and  pinnacles  of  a  Priory,  where  slumbered  the 
remains  of  Sibylla,  daughter  of  Henry  I.  of  England  (Beauclerk), 
and  Consort  of  said  Alexander  I.  of  Scotland.  Here  was  the 


48 


MONASTICON. 


scene   of   the   Funeral   of  the   Captain   of  the   Clan   Quhele, 
described  by  Sir  Walter  Scott  in  the  "Fair  Maid  of  Perth." 

Summoned  forth  from  the  Convent  by  the  distant  wail  of  the 
Coronach,  heard  proceeding  from  the  attendants  of  the  Funeral 
Barge,  the  Monks  began  to  issue  from  their  lowly  Portal,  with 
Cross  and  Banner,  and  as  much  of  Ecclesiastical  state  as  they 
had  the  means  of  displaying;  their  Bells,  at  the  same  time  (of 
which  the  Edifice  possessed  three),  pealing  the  Death-toll  over 
the  long  Lake,  which  came  to  the  ears  of  the  multitude,  and  at 
once  hushed  the  sounds  of  lamentation.  This  lovely  Isle  had 
been  deemed  of  sufficient  dignity  to  be  the  deposit  of  the  remains 
of  the  Captain  of  the  Clan  Quhele,  until  the  pressing  danger 
should  permit  of  his  body  being  conveyed  to  a  distinguished 
Convent  in  the  North,  where  he  was  destined  ultimately  to  repose 
with  his  Ancestry. 

CHAKT    OF    KING    ALEXANDER    FOE    THE    ISLAND    OF   LOCH    TAY. 


Alexander  Dei  gratia  Eex  Scot- 
torum  episcopis  et  comitibus  necnon 
omnibus  fidelibus  suis  tocius  Scocie 
salutem.  Notum  vobis  facio  me  ad 
honorem  Dei  et  sancte  Marie  [et] 
omnium  Sanctorum  pro  me  et  pro 
anima  regine  Sibille  insulam  de 
Lochtei  perpetuo  hire  possidendam 
cum  omni  dominio  ad  eandem  in- 
sulam pertinenti  Sancte  Trinitati  de 
Scon  canonice  Deo  ibi  fratribus 
famulantibus  dedisse  ut  ecclesia  Dei 
ibi  pro  me  et  pro  anima  regine  ibi 
defuncte  fabricetur  et  in  liabitu  reli- 
gionis  deo  ibi  serviant  et  hoc  do  eis 
interim  quousque  dedero  eis  aliud 
augmentum  vnde  locus  ille  in  Dei 
obsequiurn  exaltetur.  Teste  Her- 
berto  cancellario.  Apud  Striuelin. 


Alexander,  by  the  grace  of  God, 
King  of  the  Scots,  to  the  Bishops  and 
Earls,  and  to  all  the  faithful  of  the 
whole  of  Scotland,  health.  I  make 
it  known  to  you  that,  for  the  honour 
of  God,  and  S.  Mary,  and  all  the 
Saints,  I  have  given  for  myself,  and 
for  the  soul  of  Queen  Sibylla,  the 
Island  of  Loch  Tay,  in  perpetual 
possession,  with  all  the  rights  per- 
taining to  the  same  Island,  to  Holy 
Trinity  [Abbey]  of  Scoon,  and  to 
the  Brotherhood  serving  God  there 
by  Monastic  Eule,  so  that  a  Church 
of  God  be  built  there  for  me ;  and 
for  the  soul  of  the  Queen  there 
deceased,  and  that  they  serve  God 
there  in  the  religious  habit.  And 
this  I  grant  to  them  for  the  present, 
until  I  shall  have  given  them  some 
other  augmentation,  so  that  that 
place  may  be  renowned  for  its 
service  of  God.  Herbert,  Chancel- 
lor, Witness.  At  Stirling. 

The   Isle   itself  forms  a  beautiful  and  picturesque  object, 
directly  in  front  of  the  Manse  of  the  Parish  of  Kenmore,  being 


ABBEY  OF  LOCH  TAY.  49 

about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  above  the  outlet  of  the  Kiver  Tay,  and 
separated  by  a  narrow  channel  from  the  northern  margin  of  the 
Loch,  which  is  about  15  miles  long,  and  from  1  to  2  miles 
broad,  and  from  15  to  100  fathoms  deep.  The  Island  is  of  an 
elliptical  form,  and  may  present  a  surface  of  nearly  1J  acres. 
Its  waters  were  singularly  agitated  in  1755,  1784,  and  1794,  an 
account  of  which  is  given  in  the  Edinburgh  Philosophical 
Transactions.  Ben  Lawers,  and  the  still  more  lofty  Ben  Mohr, 
tower  over  all — whose  peaks  retain  a  dazzling  helmet  of  snow, 
far  into  the  summer,  and  sometimes  during  the  whole  year. 
The  Kuins  consist  now  of  two  long  side  walls,  extending  to  about 
140  feet,  while  the  two  end  or  gable  walls  are  about  24  feet. 
There  are  three  transverse  walls  parallel  to  these,  thus  dividing 
the  Edifice  into  four  compartments,  of  which  the  two  extreme 
ones  appear  to  have  been  the  smallest.  They  are  surrounded 
and  almost  hid  by  a  thick  belt  of  fine  old  sycamores  and  ashes, 
to  which,  on  the  opposite  shore,  are  corresponding  trees  of 
similar  antiquity,  together  with  a  few  superannuated  fruit-trees, 
— remnants,  probably,  of  the  Priory  Garden.  Loch  Tay  abounds 
with  salmon,  pike,  perch,  eels,  and  trout — all  good  for  food,  and 
pleasant  to  the  eyes  of  the  dexterous  Priors,  who  knew  well 
where  to  pitch  their  camp.  But  Lord  Breadalbane,  of  Taymouth 
Castle,  in  the  vicinity,  now  forbids  all  fishing  within  two  miles  of 
the  Kenmore  and  Killin  ends  of  the  Loch,  for  obvious  reasons. 
There  is  an  annual  Market  or  Fair  at  Kenmore,  still  called 
"the  Market  of  the  Holy  Women," — in  Gaelic,  Fiell  na  m'hau 
maomb.  The  last  residents  in  the  Priory  of  Loch  Tay  (it  is 
said)  were  three  Nuns,  who  were  in  the  habit  of  going  once  a 
year,  on  a  certain  day,  to  the  Parish  Church,  then  at  Inchadin 
or  Fortingal,  opposite  Taymouth  Castle,  and  from  thence  to  this 
Fair.  This  must  have  been  subsequent  to  1565,  for  that  was 
the  year  when  a  Fair  was  for  the  first  time  held  at  Kenmore. 
This  is  settled  by  a  MS.,  which  is  in  the  Library  of  Taymouth 
Castle,  of  the  nature  of  a  Diary,  written  by  an  Ecclesiastic,  likely 
the  Vicar  of  Fortingal,  several  years  before  the  end  of  the 
Sixteenth  Century.  At  page  44  of  this  MS.,  there  is  this  state- 
ment : — "  Ye  yer  of  God,  MVLXV  (1565J,  ye  Margat  was  halden 

VOL.  I.  G 


50  MONASTICON. 

and  begun  at  the  Kenmor,  at  the  end  of  Lochthay,  and  ther  was 
na  Margat  nor  Feyr  haldyn  at  Inchadan,  quhar  it  was  wynt  till 
be  haldin;  al  this  don  be  Collyn  Campbell,  of  Glenurquhay." 
In  the  interval  between  the  Foundation  of  the  Priory  and  its  last 
occupation  by  these  Good  Women,  the  beautiful  Isle  must  have 
been  the  scene  of  some  not  uninteresting  events,  gathered  from 
the  above-noticed  Vicar's  MS.,  to  wit: — "Combusta  fuit  Insula 
de  Lochthay  ex  negligentia  servorum  in  Sabbato  Palmarum, 
ultimo  die  Martir,  anno  Domini  m°  quingentesimo  nono," — i.e., 
The  Island  of  Loch  Tay  was  burned  down,  from  the  careless  negli- 
gence of  servants,  on  Palm  Sunday,  the  31st  March,  1509. 
"Obitus  Mariote  Stewart  dme  de  Glenurquhay,  xxvi.  die  Julii 
apd  Insulam  de  Lochthay  et  sepulta  in  Finlark  a°  MVXXIIIL," 
— i.e.,  Lady  Margott  Stuart,  of  Glenorchy,  Died  at  the  Island  of 
Loch  Tay,  the  Z6th  Jidy,  and  was  Buried  in  Finlarig,  A.D.  1524. 
Finlarig  is  near  Killin,  and  is  one  of  the  ancient  Seats  of  the 
Family  of  Breadalbane.  It  is  embosomed  in  a  beautiful  wood  at 
the  north-west  of  Loch  Tay,  with  the  Kiver  Lochay  sweeping 
past  its  base.  The  Glenorchy  or  Breadalbane  Family  have  been 
Buried  here  from  1513  down  to  1834.  Fingal's  Grave  is  pointed 
out  at  Killin,  which,  in  the  enthusiastic  language  of  Dr.  M'Cul- 
loch,  "is  the  most  extraordinary  collection  of  extraordinary 
scenery  in  Scotland,  unlike  everything  else  in  the  Country,  and, 
perhaps,  on  earth;  and  a  perfect  gallery  itself,  since  you  cannot 
move  three  yards  without  meeting  a  new  landscape.  A  busy 
artist  might  draw  here  a  month,  and  not  exhaust  it.  It  is, 
indeed,  scarcely  possible  to  conceive  so  many  distinct  and  marked 
objects  collected  within  so  small  a  space,  and  all  so  adapted  to 
each  other,  as  always  to  preserve  one  character,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  to  produce  so  endless  a  number  of  distinct  and  beautiful 
landscapes." 

"  Sir  Duncan  Campbell,  of  Glenurquhay,  who  succeeded  Sir 
Colin  in  1480,  biggit  ye  great  Hall,  Chapel,  and  Chalmeris,  in 
the  Isle  of  Loch  Tay."  [Black  Book  of  Taymouth.]  "  Sir 
John  Campbell,  5th  Laird  of  Glenurquhay,  deceissit  in  the  Isle 
of  Loch  Tay,  in  1550."  [Black  Book  of  Taymouth.] 

This  Isle  has  long  ceased  to  be  a  Place  of  Religious  retire- 


ABBEY  OF  INCHCOLM.  51 

ment,  excepting  for  contemplative  summer  tourists.  It  is  not, 
however,  without  inhabitants.  Besides  being  the  habitat  of  some 
swans,  which  enliven  the  Lake  with  their  graceful  motions,  and 
nestle  here  to  hatch  their  young,  the  branches  of  its  trees,  are 
colonized  by  rooks,  far  more  numerous  and  clamorous  than  were 
the  devout  Kecluses  who  occupied  the  Cells  below. 

III.  INCHCOLM.    A.D.  1123. 

[Read  before  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  by  Sir  J.  Y.  Simpson,  M.D.] 

Among  the  Islands  scattered  along  the  Firth  of  Forth,  one  of 
the  most  interesting  is  the  ancient  Aemonia,  Emona,  St.  Colum- 
ba's  Isle,  or  St.  Colme's  Inch — the  modern  Inchcolm.  The 
Island  is  not  large,  being  little  more  than  half  a  mile  in  length, 
and  about  150  yards  across  at  its  broadest  part.  At  either 
extremity  it  is  elevated  and  rocky;  while  in  its  intermediate 
portion  it  is  more  level,  though  still  very  rough  and  irregular, 
and  at  one  point, — a  little  to  the  east  of  the  old  Monastic 
Buildings, — it  becomes  so  flat  and  narrow,  that  at  high  tides  the 
waters  of  the  Forth  meet  over  it.  Inchcolm  lies  nearly  six  miles 
north-west  from  the  Harbour  of  Granton,  or  is  about  eight  or 
nine  miles  distant  from  Edinburgh;  and  of  the  many  beautiful 
spots  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Scottish  Metropolis,  there  is  perhaps 
none  which  surpasses  this  little  Island  in  the  charming  and 
picturesque  character  of  the  Views  that  are  obtained  in  various 
directions  from  it.  The  cheapest  and  readiest  way  of  access,  is 
to  hire  a  Boat  from  Burntisland :  the  fare  of  five  shillings  takes 
to  and  fro. 

Though  small  in  its  Geographical  dimensions,  Inchcolm  is 
rich  in  Historical  and  Archaeological  associations.  Upwards  of 
400  years  ago,  the  Scottish  Historian,  Walter  Bower,  the  Abbot 
of  its  Monastery,  wrote  there  his  Contributions  to  the  ancient 
History  of  Scotland.  These  Contributions  by  the  " Abbas 
Aemonise  Insulas"  are  alluded  to  by  Boece,  who  wrote  nearly  a 
Century  afterwards,  as  one  of  the  Works  upon  which  he  founded 
his  own  "  Scotorum  Histories."  [See  his  Praefatio,  p.  2;  and 
Lines'  Critical  Essay  on  the  Ancient  Inhabitants  of  Scotland,  vol. 


52  MONASTIC0N. 

/.,  pp.  218  and  228.]  Bower,  in  a  versified  Colophon,  claims  the 
merit  of  having  completed  eleven  out  of  the  sixteen  Books  com- 
posing the  Scotichronicon  (lib.  xvi.,  cap.  39 J.  At  other  times, 
Inchcolm  was  the  Seat  of  War,  as  when  it  was  pillaged  at 
different  periods  by  the  English,  during  the  course  of  the 
Fourteenth,  Fifteenth,  and  Sixteenth  Centuries.  [See  Scoti- 
chronicon, lib.  xiii.,  cap.  34  and  37;  lib.  xiv.,  cap.  38,  d*c.]  In 
1547,  the  Duke  of  Somerset,  after  the  Battle  of  Pinkie,  seized 
upon  Inchcolm  as  a  post  commanding  '  'vtterly  ye  whole  vse  of 
the  Fryth  it  self,  with  all  the  hauens  uppon  it,"  and  sent  as 
"elect  Abbot,  by  God's  sufferance,  of  the  Monastery  of  Sainct 
Coomes  Ins,"  Sir  Jhon  Luttrell,  knight,  "with  C.  hakbutters 
and  L.  pioners,  to  kepe  his  house  and  land  thear,  and  II.  rowe 
barkes,  well  furnished  with  municion,  and  LXX.  mariners  to 
kepe  his  waters,  whereby  (naively  remarks  Patten)  it  is  thought 
he  shall  soon  becum  a  prelate  of  great  power.  The  perfyteness 
of  his  religion  is  not  alwaies  to  tarry  at  home,  but  sumetime  to 
rowe  out  abrode  a  visitacion;  and  when  he  goithe  I  haue  hard 
say  he  taketh  alweyes  his  summers  in  barke  with  him,  which  ar 
very  open  mouthed,  and  neuer  talk  but  they  are  harde  a  mile  of, 
so  that  either  for  loove  of  his  blessynges,  or  feare  of  his  cursinges, 
he  is  lyke  to  be  soouveraigne  ouer  most  of  his  neighbours."  [See 
Patten's  Account  of  The  Late  Expedicion  in  Scotlande,  dating  out 
of  the  Parsonage  of  S.  Mary  Hill,  London,  in  Sir  John  Dalyell's 
Fragments  of  Scottish  History,  pp.  79  and  81.]  In  Abbot  Bower's 
time,  the  Island  seems  to  have  been  provided  with  some  means 
of  defence  against  these  English  attacks;  for  in  his  Scotichroni- 
con, in  incidentally  speaking  of  the  return  of  the  Abbot  and  his 
Canons  in  October,  1421,  from  the  Mainland  to  the  Island,  it  is 
stated  that  they  dared  not,  in  the  summer  and  autumn,  live  on 
the  Island  for  fear  of  the  English,  for,  it  is  added,  the  Monastery 
at  that  time  was  not  fortified  as  it  is  now,  "non  enim  erant  tune, 
quales  ut  mine,  in  monasterio  munitiones."  [Lib.  xv.,  cap.  38.] 
For  ages,  Inchcolm  was  the  site  of  an  extensive  Eeligious 
Institution,  and  the  habitation  of  numerous  Monks.  "lona 
itself  has  not  an  air  of  stiller  solitude.  Here,  within  view  of  the 
gay  Capital,  and  with  half  the  riches  of  the  Scotland  of  earlier 


ABBEY  OF  INCHCOLM. 


53 


days  spread  around  them,  the  Brethren  might  look  forth  from 
their  secure  Retreat  on  that  busy  ambitious  world,  from  which, 
though  close  at  hand,  they  were  effectually  severed."  [Billings' 
Baronial  and  Ecclesiastical' Antiquities  of  Scotland)  vol.  Hi.  Note 
on  IncHcolm.}  At  the  beginning  of  the  present  Century,  it  was 
temporarily  degraded  to  the  site  of  a  Military  Fort,  and  the 
habitation  of  a  Corps  of  Artillery.  Alex.  Campbell,  in  his 
"  Journey  through  North  Britain"  (1802),  after  speaking  of  a 
Fort  in  the  east  part  of  Inchcolm  having  a  Corps  of  Artillery 
stationed  on  it,  adds,  "  so  that  in  lieu  of  the  pious  Orisons  of  holy 
Monks,  the  orgies  of  lesser  deities  are  celebrated  here  by  the 
sons  of  Mars,"  &c.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  69.  During  the  plagues  and 


BUINS  OF  INCHCOLM  ABBEY. 


epidemics  of  the  Sixteenth  and  Seventeenth  Centuries,  it  formed 
sometimes  a  Lazaretto  for  the  suspected  and  diseased;  and 
during  the  Reign  of  James  I.,  it  was  used  as  a  State  Prison  for 
the  daughter  of  the  Earl' of  Ross,  and  the  mother  of  the  Lord  of 
the  Isles — [Bellenden's  Translation  of  Boece's  History  of  Scotland) 
vol.  ii.,  p.  500] — "a  mannish,  implacable  woman,"  as  Drummond 
of  Hawthornden  ungallantly  terms  her — [Works  of  William 
Drummond)  Edinburgh)  1711,  p.  7] ;  while  fifty  years  later,  when 
Patrick  Graham,  Archbishop  of  St.  Andrews,  was  "decernit  ane 


54  MONASTICON. 

heretique,  scismatike,  symoniak,  and  declarit  cursit,  and  con- 
damnit  to  perpetuall  presoun,"  he  was,  for  this  last  purpose, 
" first  transportit  to  St.  Colmes  Insche." 

Punishments  more  dark  and  dire  than  mere  Transportation 
to,  and  Imprisonment  upon  Inchcolm,  have  perhaps  taken  place 
within  the  bounds  of  the  Island,  if  we  do  not  altogether  misinter- 
pret the  history  of  "a  human  skeleton  standing  upright,"  found 
several  years  ago  immured  and  built  up  within  the  old  Ecclesias- 
tic Walls.  Nor  is  this  eastern  lona,  as  patronised  and  protected 
by  Saint  Columba, — and,  at  one  period  of  his  mission  to  the 
Picts  and  Scots,  his  own  alleged  Dwelling-place, — devoid  in  its 
history  of  the  usual  amount  of  old  Monkish  Miracles  and 
Legends.  Fordun's  Scotichronicon  contains  long  and  elaborate 
details  of  several  of  them.  When,  in  1412,  the  Earl  of  Douglas 
thrice  essayed  to  sail  out  to  sea,  and  was  thrice  driven  back  by 
adverse  gales,  he  at  last  made  a  pilgrimage  to  the  holy  Isle  of 
Aemonia,  presented  an  offering  to  Columba,  and  forthwith  the 
Saint  sped  him  with  fair  winds  to  Flanders  and  home  again. 
[Scotichronicon,  lib.  xv.,  cap.  23.]  When,  towards  the  winter  of 
1421,  a  boat  was  sent  on  a  Sunday  to  bring  off  to  the  Monastery 
from  the  Mainland  some  house  provisions  and  barrels  of  beer 
brewed  at  Bernhill,  and  the  crew,  exhilarated  with  liquor, 
hoisted,  on  their  return,  a  sail,  and  upset  the  barge,  Sir  Peter  the 
Canon, — who,  with  five  others,  was  thrown  into  the  water, — 
fervently  and  unceasingly  invoked  the  aid  of  Columba,  and  the 
Saint  appeared  in  person  to  him,  and  kept  Sir  Peter  afloat  for  an 
hour  and  a  half  by  the  help  of  a  truss  of  tow,  till  the  boat  of 
Portevin  picked  up  him  and  two  others.  [Scotichronicon,  lib.  xv., 
cap.  38.]  When,  in  1385,  the  crew  of  an  English  vessel 
sacrilegiously  robbed  the  Island,  and  tried  to  burn  the  Church, 
S.  Columba,  in  answer  to  the  earnest  prayers  of  those  who,  on 
the  neighbouring  shore,  saw  the  danger  of  the  Sacred  Edifice, 
suddenly  shifted  round  the  wind  and  quenched  the  flames,  while 
the  chief  of  the  incendiaries  was,  within  a  few  hours  afterwards, 
struck  with  madness,  and  forty  of  his  comrades  drowned. 
[Scotichronicon,  lib.  xv.,  cap.  48.]  When,  in  1335,  an  English 
fleet  ravaged  the  shores  of  the  Forth,  and  one  of  their  largest 


ABBEY  OF  INCHCOLM.  55 

ships  was  carrying  off  from  Inchcolm  an  image  of  Columba  and 
a  store  of  Ecclesiastical  plunder,  there  sprung  up  such  a  furious 
tempest  around  the  vessel  immediately  after  she  set  sail,  that  she 
drifted  helplessly  and  hopelessly  towards  the  neighbouring  Island 
of  Inchkeith,  and  was  threatened  with  destruction  on  the  rocks 
there,  till  the  crew  implored  pardon  of  Columba,  vowed  to  him 
restitution  of  their  spoils,  and  a  suitable  offering  of  gold  and 
silver,  and  then  they  instantly  and  unexpectedly  were  lodged  safe 
in  port.  [Scoticlironicon,  lib.  xiii.,cap.  34.]  When,  in  1335,  the 
navy  of  King  Edward  came  up  the  Forth,  and  "spulyeit"  White- 
kirk,  in  East  Lothian,  still  more  summary  vengeance  was  taken 
upon  such  sacrilege.  For  "trueth  is  (says  Bellenden)  ane 
Inglisman  spulyeit  all  the  ornamentis  that  was  on  the  image  of 
our  Lady  in  the  Quhite  Kirk;  and  incontinent  the  crucifix  fel 
doun  on  his  head,  and  dang  out  his  harnis."  [Bellenden' 's  Trans- 
lation of  Hector  Boeee's  CroniMis,  lib.  xv.,  c.  14;  vol.  ii.,  p.  446.] 
When,  in  1336,  some  English  pirates  robbed  the  Church  at 
Dollar — which  had  been  sometime  previously  repaired  and 
richly  decorated  by  an  Abbot  of  Aemonia — and  while  they  were, 
with  their  Sacrilegious  booty,  sailing  triumphantly,  and  with 
music  on  board,  down  the  Forth,  under  a  favouring  and  gentle 
west  wind,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  and  exactly  opposite  the 
Abbey  of  Inchcolm,  the  ship  sank  to  the  bottom  like  a  stone. 
Hence,  adds  the  Writer  of  this  Miracle  in  the  Scotichronicon, — 
and  no  doubt  that  Writer  was  the  Abbot  Walter  Bower, — in 
consequence  of  these  marked  retaliating  propensities  of  S. 
Columba,  his  vengeance  against  all  who  trespassed  against  him 
became  proverbial  in  England ;  and  instead  of  calling  him,  as  his 
name  seems  to  have  been  usually  pronounced  at  the  time,  S. 
Callum  or  S.  Colam,  he  was  commonly  known  amongst  them  as 
S.  Quhalme. 

But  without  dwelling  on  these  and  other  well-known  facts 
and  fictions  in  the  History  of  Inchcolm,  it  may  be  stated  that  this 
Island  is  one  of  the  few  spots  in  the  vicinity  of  Edinburgh  that 
has  been  rendered  Classical  by  the  pen  of  Shakspeare.  In  the 
second  Scene  of  the  opening  Act  of  the  Tragedy  of  Macbeth,  the 
Thane  of  Ross  comes  as  a  hurried  messenger  from  the  Field 


50  MONASTICON. 

of  Battle  to  King  Duncan,  and  reports  that  Duncan's  own 
rebellious  subjects  and  the  invading  Scandinavians  had  both  been 
so  completely  defeated  by  his  generals,  Macbeth  and  Banquo, 
that  the  Norwegians  craved  for  peace : — 

"  Sueno,  the  Norways  Kings,  craves  composition  ; 
Nor  would  we  deign  him  burial  of  his  men 
Till  he  disbursed,  at  Saint  Colmes  Inch, 
Ten  thousand  dollars  to  our  general  use." 

Inchcolm  is  the  only  Island  of  the  east  coast  of  Scotland 
which  derives  its  distinctive  designation  from  the  great  Scottish 
Saint.  But  more  than  one  Island  on  our  western  shores  bears 
the  name  of  S.  Columba;  as,  for  example,  St.  Colme's  Isle,  in 
Loch  Erisort,  and  St.  Colm's  Isle  in  the  Minch,  in  the  Lewis; 
the  Island  of  Kolmbkill,  at  the  head  of  Loch  Arkeg,  in  Inverness- 
shire;  Eilean  Colm,  in  the  Parish  of  Tongue;  and,  above  all, 
ICOLMKILL,  or  IONA  itself,  the  original  Seat  and  subsequent  great 
Centre  of  the  Ecclesiastical  power  of  S.  Columba  and  his 
Successors. 

The  reference  to  Inchcolm  by  Shakspeare  becomes  more 
interesting  when  we  follow  the  Poet  to  the  original  Historical 
foundations  upon  which  he  built  his  wondrous  Tragedy.  It  is 
well  known  that  Shakspeare  derived  the  incidents  for  his  Story  of 
Macbeth  from  tha"t  Translation  of  Hector  Boece's  Chronicles  of 
Scotland  which  was  Published  in  England  by  Eaphael  Holinshed 
in  1577.  In  these  Chronicles,  Holinshed,  or  rather  Hector 
Boe'ce,  after  describing  the  reputed  poisoning,  with  the  juice  of 
belladonna,  of  Sueno  and  his  Army,  and  their  subsequent  almost 
complete  destruction,  adds,  that  shortly  afterwards,  and,  indeed, 
while  the  Scots  were  still  celebrating  this  equivocal  Contest, 
another  Danish  host  landed  at  Kinghorn.  The  fate  of  this 
second  Army  is  described  by  Holinshed  in  the  following  words : — 

"  The  Scots  hauing  woone  so  notable  a  victorie,  after  they  had  gathered 
and  diuided  the  spoile  of  the  field,  caused  solemne  processions  to  be  made 
in  all  places  of  the  realme,  and  thanks  to  be  giuen  to  almightie  God,  that 
had  sent  them  so  faire  a  day  ouer  their  enimies.  But  whilest  the  people 
were  thus  at  their  processions,  woord  was  brought  that  a  new  fleet  of  Danes 
was  arriued  at  Kingcorne,  sent  thither  by  Canute,  King  of  England,  in 


ABBEY  OF  INCHCOLM.  57 

reuenge  of  his  brother  Suenos  ouerthrow.  To  resist  these  enimies,  which 
were  alreadie  landed,  and  busie  in  spoiling  the  countrie,  Makbeth  and 
Banquho  were  sent  with  the  Kings  authoritie,  who  hauing  with  them  a 
conuenient  power,  incoutred  the  enimies,  slue  part  of  them,  and  chased  the 
uA^  to  their  ships.  They  that  escaped  and  got  once  to  their  ships, 
of  Inc^  akbeth  for  a  great  summe  of  gold,  that  such  of  their  friends  as 
were  aiaine  j,t  this  last  bickering,  might  be  buried  in  Saint  Colmes  Inch. 
In  memorie  whereof,  manie  old  sepultures  are  yet  in  the  said  Inch,  there  to 
be  seene  grauen  with  the  armes  of  the  Danes,  as  the  manner  of  buireng  noble 
men  still  is,  and  Heretofore  hath  beene  vsed.  A  peace  was  also  concluded 
at  the  same  time  betwixt  the  Danes  and  Scotishmen,  ratified  (as  some  haue 
written)  in  this  wise :  that  from  thencefoorth  the  Danes  should  neuer  come 
into  Scotland  to  make  anie  warres  against  the  Scots  by  anie  maner  of 
meanes.  And  these  were  the  warres  that  Duncan  had  with  forren  enimies, 
in  the  seuenth  yiere  of  his  reigne."  [Holimhed's  Chronicles,  vol.  v.,  £>.  268.] 

To  this  Account  of  Holinshed,  as  bearing  upon  the  question 
of  the  St.  Colme's  Isle  alluded  to  by  Shakspeare,  it  is  only 
necessary  to  add  one  remark: — Certainly  the 
Western  lona,  with  its  nine  separate  Ceme- 
teries, could  readily  afford  fit  Burial-place  for 
the  slain  Danes;  but  it  is  impossible  to  believe 
that  the  defeated  and  dejected  English  Army 
would  or  could  carry  the  dead  and  decomposing 
bodies  of  their  Chiefs  to  that  remote  place  of 
sepulture.  And,  supposing  that  the  dead 
bodies  had  been  embalmed,  then  it  would  have 

In  Chapter  House,     been  eagier  to   c  them  back  to  the  Dam'sn 

Westminster.  _      ,    J  _  ...       ~ 

territories  in  England,  or  even  across  the  Ger- 
man Ocean  to  Denmark  itself,  than  round  by  the  Pentland  Firth 
to  the  distant  Western  Island  of  Icolmkill.  On  the  other  hand, 
that  St.  Colme's  Inch,  in  the  Firth  of  Forth,  is  the  Island  alluded 
to,  is  perfectly  certain,  from  its  propinquity  to  the  Seat  of  War, 
and  the  point  of  landing  of  the  new  Scandinavian  host,  namely, 
Kinghorn;  the  old  Town  of  Wester  Kinghorn  lying  only  about 
three  or  four  miles  from  Inchcolm,  and  the  present  Town  of  the 
same  name,  or  Eastern  Kinghorn,  being  placed  about  a  couple  of 
miles  further  down  the  coast. 

We    might    here    have    adduced    another    incontrovertible 
argument  in  favour  of  this  view,  by  appealing  to  the  statement 

VOL.  I.  H 


68  MONASTICON/ 

given  in  the  above  quotation,  of  the  existence  on  Inchcolm,  in 
Boece's  time,  of  Danish  Sepulchral  Monuments,  provided  we  felt 
assured  that  this  statement  was  in  itself  perfectly  correct.     But 
before  adopting  it  as  such,  it  is  necessary  to  remember  that 
Boece  describes  the  Sculptured  Crosses  and  Stones  at  Camus- 
tane  and  Aberlemno,  in  Forfarshire,  as  monuments  of  a  Danish 
character  also;   and  whatever  may  have  been  the  origin  and 
objects  of  these  mysteries  in  Scottish  Archaeology, — our  old  and 
numerous    Sculptured    Stones,    with   their   strange  enigmatical 
symbols, — we  are  at  least  certain  that  they  are  not  Danish  either 
in  their  source  or  design,  as  no  Sculptured  Stones  with  these 
peculiar  symbols  exist  in  Denmark  itself.      That  Inchcolm  con- 
tained one  or  more  of  those  Sculptured  Stones,  is  proved  by  a 
small  Fragment  that  still  remains,  and  which  was  detected  a  few 
years  ago  about  the  Garden  Wall.     In  the  quotation  given  from 
Holinshed's  Chronicles,  the  "  old  Sepultures  there  (on  Inchcolm) 
to  be  scene  grauen  with  the  armes  of  the  .Danes,"  are  spoken  of 
as   "manie"   in   number.     Bellenden   uses   similar  language: 
"  Thir  Danes  (he  writes)  that  fled  to  thair  schippis,  gaif  gret 
sowmes  of  gold  to  Makbeth  to  suffer  thair  friendis  that  war  slane 
at  his  jeoperd  to  be  buryit  in  Sanct  Colmes  Inche.     In  memory 
heirof,  many  auld  sepulturis  ar  yit  in  the  said  Inche,  gravin  with 
armis  of  Danis."     [Bellenden' s  Translation  of  Boece's  Croniklis  of 
Scotland,    lib.  xii.,  2;   vol.  ii.,  p.   258.]      In   translating   this 
passage  from  Boece,  both  Holinshed  and  Bellenden  overstate, 
in   some   degree,   the  words  of  their  original  Author.     Boece 
speaks  of  the  Danish  Monuments  still  existing  on  Inchcolm  in 
his  day,  or  about  the  year  1525,  as  plural  in  number,  but  with- 
out speaking  of  them  as  many.     After  stating  that  the  Danes 
purchased  the  right  of  Sepulture  for  their  slain  Chiefs  (nobiles) 
"in  Emonia  insula,  loca  sacro,"  he  adds,  "extant  et  hac  cetate 
nohssima  Danorum  monumenta,  lapidibusque  insculpta  eorum 
insignia."     [Scotorum  Historic  (1526),  lib.  xii.,  p.  257.]     For  a 
long   period   past  only  one  so    called   Danish   Monument  has 
existed  on  Inchcolm,  and  is  still  to  be  seen  there.     It  is  a  single 
recumbent  block  of  stone,  above  five  feet  long,  about  a  foot 
broad,   and   one   foot   nine   inches    in   depth,   having  a    rude 


ABBEY  OP  INCHCOLM. 


59 


sculptured  Figure  on  its  upper  surface.  In  his  History  of  Fife, 
Published  in  1710,  Sir  Bobert  Sibbald  has  both  drawn  and 
described  it.  "  It  is  (says  he)  made  like  a  coffin,  and  very  fierce 
and  grim  faces  are  done  on  both  the  ends  of  it.  Upon  the 
middle  stone  which  supports  it,  there  is  the  figure  of  a  man 
holding  a  spear  in  his  hand."  [History  of  Fife  and  Kinross,  p. 
35.]  He  might  have  added  that,  on  the  corresponding  middle 
part  of  the  opposite  side,  there  is  sculptured  a  rude  cross;  but 
both  the  cross  and  "man  holding  a  spear"  are  cut  on  the  single 
block  of  stone  forming  the  Monument,  and  not,  as  he  represents, 

on  a  separate  supporting  stone. 
Pennant,  in  his  Tour  through 
Scotland  in  1772,  tells  us 
that  this  "Danish  Monument" 
"  lies  in  the  south-east  [south- 
west] side  of  the  Building  (or 
Monastery),  on  arising  ground. 
It  is  (he  adds)  of  a  rigid  form, 
and  the  surface  ornamented 
with  scale-like  figures.  At 
each  end  is  the  representation 
of  a  human  head."  In  its 
existing  defaced  form,  the 
sculpture  has  certainly  much 
more  the  appearance  of  a  recumbent  human  figure,  with  a  head 
at  one  end,  and  the  feet  at  the  other,  than  with  a  human  head  at 
either  extremity. 

It  is  well  known  that,  about  a  Century  after  the  occurrence 
of  these  Danish  Wars,  and  of  the  alleged  Burial  of  the  Danish 
Chiefs  on  Inchcolm, — or  in  the  first  half  of  the  Thirteenth 
Century, — there  was  Founded  on  this  Island,  by  Alexander  I.,  a 
Monastery,  which  from  time  to  time  was  greatly  enlarged,  and 
well  Endowed.  The  Monastic  Buildings  remaining  on  Inchcolm 
at  the  present  day  are  of  very  various  Dates,  and  still  very 
extensive;  and  their  oblong  light-grey  mass,  surmounted  by  a 
tall,  square,  central  Tower,  forms  a  striking  object  in  the 
distance,  as  seen  in  the  summer  morning  light  from  the  higher 


Seal.     [Morton  Charters.] 


60  MONASTICON. 

streets  and  houses  of  Edinburgh,  and  from  the  neighbouring 
shores  of  the  Firth  of  Forth.  The  Tower  of  the  Church  of 
Inchcolm  is  so  similar  in  its  architectural  forms  and  details  to 
that  of  Icolmkill,  that  it  is  evidently  a  structure  nearly,  if  not 
entirely,  of  the  same  age;  and  the  new  Choir  (novum  chorum) 
built  to  the  Church  in  1265 — [Scoticlironicon,  lib.  x.,  c.  20] — is 
apparently,  as  seen  by  its  remaining  masonic  connections, 
posterior  in  age  to  the  Tower  upon  which  it  abuts.  These 
Monastic  Buildings  have  been  fortunately  protected  and  preserved 
by  their  Insular  situation, — not  from  the  silent  and  wasting  touch 
of  time,  but  from  the  more  ruthless  and  destructive  hand  of  man. 
The  stone-roofed  octagonal  Chapter-House  is  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  and  perfect  in  Scotland;  and  the  Abbot's  House, 
the  Cloisters,  Refectory,  &c.,  are  still  comparatively  entire. 

Here  Sir  James  Simpson  branches  off  into  a  very  elaborate 
and  ingenious  disquisition  upon  a  small  Building,  isolated,  at  a 
little  distance  from  the  remains  of  the  Monastery,  which  he  is 
inclined  to  believe  is  of  an  older  Date,  and  of  an  earlier  age,  than 
any  part  of  the  Monastery  itself.  This  small  Cell  forms  now, 
with  its  south  side,  a  portion  of  the  line  of  the  north  wall  of  the 
present  Garden.  When  he  first  visited  the  Island  of  Inchcolm, 
this  interesting  Building  was  the  abode  of  two  pigs;  and,  on 
another  visit,  one  cow  was  its  tenant !  In  consequence  of  the 
attention  of  the  Earl  of  Moray  (the  Proprietor  of  the  Island)  and 
his  Factor,  Mr.  Philipps,  having  been  called  thereto,  all  such 
desecration  has  been  put  an  end  to,  and  the  whole  Structure  has 
been  excellently  repaired  and  restored. 

The  Tradition,  as  told  by  the  " Cicerone"  on  the  Island,  is 
that  this  neglected  Outbuilding  was  the  place  in  which  "King 
Alexander  lived  for  three  days  with  the  Hermit  of  Inchcolm." 
There  was  nothing  in  the  rude  architecture  and  general  character 
of  the  Building  to  gainsay  such  a  Tradition,  but  the  reverse; 
and,  on  the  contrary,  when  we  turn  to  the  notice  of  a  visit  of 
Alexander  I.  to  the  Island  in  1123,  as  given  by  our  earliest 
Scotch  historians,  their  Account  of  the  little  Chapel  or  Oratory 
which  he  found  there,  perfectly  applies  to  this  Building.  In 
order  to  prove  this,  the  History  of  Alexander's  Visit  is  quoted 


ABBEY  OF  INCHCOLM.  61 

from  the  "  Scotichronicon"  of  Fordun  and  Bower,  the  "  Extracta 
e  Cronicis  Scocie,"  and  the  "  Scotorum  Historia"  of  Hector 
Boece.  [See  other  similar  notices  of  the  visit  of  Alexander 
I.  to  Inchcolm  in  Buchanan's  Eerum  Scoticarum  Historia,  lib. 
vii.,  cap.  27;  Leslceus  de  Rebus  Gestis,  Scotorum,  lib.  vi.,  p. 
219,  dc.] 

The  Scotichronicon  contains  the  following  account  of  King 
Alexander's  adventure  and  temporary  sojourn  in  Inchcolm  : — 

"  About  the  year  of  our  Lord  1123,  under  circumstances  not  less 
wonderful  than  miraculous,  a  Monastery  was  founded  on  the  Island 
Aemonia,  near  Inverkeithing.  For  when  the  noble  and  most  Christian 
Sovereign  Alexander,  first  of  this  name,  was,  in  pursuit  of  some  State 
business,  making  a  passage  across  the  Queensferry,  suddenly  a  tremendous 
storm  arose,  and  the  fierce  south-west  wind  forced  the  vessel  and  sailors  to 
make,  for  safety's  sake,  for  the  Island  of  Aemonia,  where  at  that  time  lived 
an  islander  hermit  (crcmita  insulanus),  who,  belonging  to  the  service  of  Saint 
Columba,  devoted  himself  sedulously  to  his  duties  at  a  certain  little  chapel 
there  (ad  quondam  inibi  capettulam),  content  with  such  poor  food  as  the  milk 
of  one  cow,  and  the  shell  and  small  sea  fishes  which  he  could  collect.  On 
the  hermit's  slender  stores,  the  king  and  his  suit  of  companions,  detained  by 
the  storm,  gratefully  lived  for  three  consecutive  days.  But  on  the  day 
before  landing,  when  in  very  great  danger  from  the  sea,  and  tossed  by  the 
fury  of  the  tempest,  the  King  despaired  of  life,  he  vowed  to  the  Saint,  that 
if  he  should  bring  him  and  his  companions  safe  to  the  Island,  he  would 
leave  on  it  such  a  memorial  to  his  honour  as  would  render  it  a  future 
asylum  and  refuge  to  sailors  and  those  that  were  shipwrecked.  Therefore, 
it  was  decided,  on  this  occasion,  that  he  should  found  there  a  Monastery  of 
Prebendiaries,  such  as  now  exists;  and  this  the  more  so,  as  he  had  always 
venerated  S.  Columba  with  special  honours  from  his  youth;  and  chiefly 
because  his  own  parents  were  for  several  years  childless  and  destitute  of  the 
solace  of  offspring,  until,  beseeching  S.  Columba  with  suppliant  devotion, 
they  gloriously  obtained  what  they  sought  for  so  long  a  time  with  anxious 
desire." 

The  preceding  Account  of  King  Alexander's  Visit  to  Inch- 
colm, and  his  Founding  of  the  Monastery  there,  occurs  in  the 
course  of  the  fifth  Book  (lib.  v.,  cap.  37)  of  the  Scotichronicon, 
without  its  heing  marked  whether  the  passage  itself  exists  in  the 
original  five  Books  of  Fordun,  or  in  one  of  the  additions  made  to 
them  by  the  Abbot  Walter  Bower.  In  his  original  portion  of 
the  History,  Fordun  himself  merely  refers  to  the  Foundation  of 


62  MONASTICON. 

the  Monastery  of  Inchcolm  by  Alexander.  The  first  of  these 
Writers,  John  of  Fordun,  lived,  it  will  be  recollected,  in  the 
Reigns  of  Eobert  II.  and  III.,  and  wrote  about  1380;  while 
Walter  Bower,  the  principal  Continuator  of  Fordun's  History, 
was  Abbot  of  Inchcolni  from  1418  to  the  date  of  his  Death  in 
1449. 

In  the  Work  known  under  the  title  of  "Extracta  e  Yarn's 
Cronicis  Scocie,"  there  is  an  Account  of  Alexander's  fortuitous 
Visit  to  Inchcolm,  exactly  similar  to  the  above,  but  in  an 
abridged  form.  Tytler,  in  his  "  History  of  Scotland,"  supposes 
the  "  Extracta"  to  have  been  written  posterior  to  the  time  of 
Fordun,  and  prior  to  the  Date  of  Bower's  Continuation  of  the 
Scotichronicon, — a  conjecture  which  one  or  more  passages  in 
the  Work  entirely  disprove.  If  the  opinion  of  Tytler  had  been 
correct,  it  would  have  been  important  as  a  proof  that  the  story 
of  the  Koyal  adventure  of  Alexander  upon  Inchcolm  was  written 
by  Fordun,  and  not  by  Bower,  inasmuch  as  the  two  Accounts  in 
the  Scotichronicon  and  in  the  "  Extracta"  are  on  this,  as  on 
most  other  points,  very  similar,  the  "Extracta"  being  merely 
somewhat  curtailed. 

That  this  very  small  and  antique-looking  Edifice  is  identi- 
cally the  little  Chapel  or  Cell  spoken  of  by  Fordun  and  Boe'ce  as 
existing  on  the  Island  at  the  time  of  Alexander's  Visit  to  it, 
upwards  of  seven  Centuries  ago,  is  a  matter  admitting  of  great 
probability,  but  not  of  perfect  legal  proof.  One  or  two  irre- 
coverable links  are  wanting  in  the  chain  of  evidence  to  make  that 
proof  complete;  and  more  particularly  do  we  lack  for  this 
purpose  any  distinct  allusions  or  notices  among  our  mediaeval 
Annalists,  of  the  existence  or  character  of  the  Building  during 
these  intervening  seven  Centuries,  except  the  notice  of  it  cited 
from  the  Scotichronicon,  "ad  quandam  inibi  capdlulam"  written 
by  the  hand  of  Walter  Bower,  and  having  a  reference  to  the  little 
Chapel  as  it  existed  and  stood  about  the  year  1430,  when  Bower 
wrote  his  Additions  to  Fordun,  while  living  and  ruling  on  Inch- 
colm, as  Abbot  of  its  Monastery. 

But  various  circumstances  render  it  highly  probable  that  this 
old  stone-roofed  Cell  is  the  ancient  Chapel  or  Oratory  in  which 


ABBEY  OF  INCHCOLM. 


63 


the  Island  Hermit  (eremita  insulanus)  lived  and  worshipped  at  the 
time  of  Alexander's  Koyal  but  compulsory  Visit  in  1123.  The 
fact  that  this  little  Building  is,  in  its  whole  architectural  style 
and  character,  evidently  far  more  rude,  primitive,  and  ancient, 
than  any  of  the  extensive  Monastic  Structures  existing  on  the 
Island,  answers  most  fitly  and  perfectly  to  the  two  characteristic 
appellations  used  respectively  in  the  Scotichronicon  and  in  the 
Historice  Scotorum,  to  designate  the  Cell  or  Oratory  of  the  Inch- 
colm  Anchorite  at  the  time  of  King  Alexander's  three  days'  sojourn 
on  the  Island. 

Again,  in  favour  of  the  view  that  the  existing  Building  on 
Inchcolm  is  the  actual  Chapel  or  Oratory  in  which  the  Insular 

Anchorite  lived  and  worshipped 
there  in  the  Twelfth  Century, 
it  may  be  further  argued  that, 
where  they  were  not  constructed 
of  perishable  materials,  it  was 
in  consonance  with  the  practice 
of  these  early  times,  to  preserve 
carefully  Houses  and  Buildings 
of  Religious  note,  as  hallowed 
Relics.  Most  of  the  old  Ora- 
tories and  Houses  raised  by  the 
early  Irish  and  Scottish  Saints 
were  undoubtedly  built  of  wat- 
tles, wood,  or  clay,  and  other 
perishable  materials,  and  of  necessity  were  soon  lost.  But  when 
of  a  more  solid  and  permanent  construction,  they  were  sometimes 
sedulously  preserved,  and  piously  and  punctually  visited  for  long 
Centuries  as  holy  Shrines. 

In  its  whole  architectural  type  and  features,  the  Cell  or 
Oratory  is  manifestly  older,  and  more  rude  and  primitive,  than 
any  of  the  diverse  Monastic  Buildings  erected  on  the  Island  from 
the  Twelfth  Century  downwards.  But  more,  the  Inchcolm  Cell 
or  Oratory  corresponds  in  all  its  leading  architectural  features 
and  specialities  with  the  Cells,  Oratories,  or  small  Chapels, 
raised  from  the  Sixth  and  Eighth,  down  to  the  Tenth  and 


Counter  Seal.     [Morton  Charters.] 


64  MONASTICON. 

Twelfth  Centuries  in  different  parts  of  Ireland,  and  in  some 
districts  in  Scotland,  by  the  early  Irish  Ecclesiastics,  and  their 
Irish  or  Scoto-Irish  disciples  and  followers. 

Let  me  add  one  word  more  as  to  the  probable  or  possible  age 
of  the  "Capellula"  on  Inchcolm.  Granting,  for  a  moment,  that 
the  Building  on  Inchcolm  is  the  small  Chapel  existing  on  the 
Island  when  visited  by  King  Alexander  in  112r>,  have  we  any 
reason  to  suppose  the  Structure  to  be  one  of  a  still  earlier  Date  ? 
Inchcolm  was  apparently  a  favourite  place  of  Sepulture  up 
indeed  to  comparatively  late  times;,  and  may  possibly  have  been 
so  in  old  Pagan  times,  and  previously  to  the  Introduction  of 
Christianity  into  Scotland.  The  soil  of  the  fields  to  the  west  of 
the  Monastery  is,  when  turned  over,  found  still  full  of  fragments 
of  human  bones.  Allan  de  Mortimer,  Lord  of  Aberdour,  gave  to 
the  Abbey  of  Inchcolm,  a  moiety  of  the  Lands  of  his  Town  of 
Aberdour,  for  leave  of  Burial  in  the  Church  of  the  Monastery. 
"Alanus  de  Mortuo  Mari,  Miles,  Dominus  de  Abirdaur,  dedit 
omnes  et  tot  as  dimidietates  terrarum  Villse  suae  de  Abirdaur, 
Deo  et  Monachis  de  Insula  Sancti  Columbi,  pro  sepultura  sibi  et 
posteris  suis  in  Ecclesia  dicti  Monasterii."  [Quoted  from  i\ie  MS. 
Register  or  Chartulary  of  the  Abbey,  by  Sir  Robert  Sibbald,  in  his 
History  of  Fife,  p.  41.]  The  same  Author  adds  that,  in  conse- 
quence of  this  Grant  to  the  Monastery  of  Inchcolm  for  leave  of 
Sepulture,  the  Earl  of  Murray  (who  represents  "  Stewart,  Abbot 
of  Inchcolm,"  that  sat  as  a  lay  Commendator  in  the  Parliament 
of  1560,  when  the  Confession  of  Faith  was  approved  of)  now 
possesses  the  "wester  half  of  Aberdour."  Sir  Eobert  Sibbald 
further  mentions  the  story  that  "  Alain,  the  founder,  being  dead, 
the  Monks,  carrying  his  corpse  in  a  coffin  of  lead,  by  barge,  in 
the  night-time,  to  be  interred  within  their  church,  some  wicked 
Monks  did  throw  the  samen  in  a  great  deep  betwixt  the  land  and 
the  Monastery,  which  to  this  day,  by  the  neighbouring  fishermen 
and  salters,  is  called  Mortimer's  Deep."  He  does  not  give  the 
year  of  the  preceding  Grant  by  Alain  de  Mortimer,  but  states 
that  "the  Mortimers  had  this  Lordship  by  the  Marriage  of 
Anicea,  only  daughter  and  sole  heiress  of  Dominus  Joannes  de 
Vetere  Ponte  or  Vypont,  in  anno  1126."  It  appears  to  have 


ABBEY  OF  INCHCOLM.  65 

been  her  husband  who  made  the  above  Grant.     [See  Nisbet's 
Heraldry,  vol.  i.,  p.  294.] 

In  Scottish  History,  various  allusions  occur  "with  regard  to 
Persons  of  note,  and  especially  the  Ecclesiastics  of  Dunkeld,  being 
carried  for  Sepulture  to  Inchcolm.  Thus,  in  1272,  Kichard  of 
Inverkeithing,  Chamberlain  of  Scotland,  Died,  and  his  body  was 
Buried  at  Dunkeld,  but  his  Heart  was  deposited  in  the  Choir  of 
the  Abbey  of  Inchcolm.  [Scotichronicon,  lib.  x.,  c.  30.]  In 
Hay's  Sacra  Scotia,  is  a  description  of  the  Sculptures  on  this 
Monument  in  Inchcolm  Church,  p.  471.  In  1173,  Richard, 
Chaplain  to  King  William;  Died  at  Cramond,  and  was  Buried  in 
Inchcolm.  [Mylne's  Vitce,  p.  6.]  In  1210,  Richard,  Bishop  of 
Dunkeld,  Died  at  Cramond,  and  was  Buried  in  Inchcolm. 
[Scotichronicon,  lib.  viii.,  c.  27]  And  four  years  afterwards, 
Bishop  Leycester  Died  also  at  Cramond,  and  was  Buried  at  Inch- 
colm. [Scotichronicon,  lib.  ix.,  c.  27.]  In  1265,  Richard, 
Bishop  of  Dunkeld,  Built  a  new  Choir  in  the  Church  of  S. 
Columba  on  Inchcolm;  and,  in  the  following  year,  the  bones  of 
three  former  Bishops  of  Dunkeld  were  transferred,  and  Buried, 
two  on  the  north,  and  the  third  on  the  south  side  of  the  Altar  in 
this  new  Choir.  [Scotichronicon,  lib.  x.,  c.  20,  21.  See  also  the 
Extracta  e  Cronicis  Scocie  for  other  similar  notices,  pp.  90,  95, 
&c. ;  and  Mylne's  Vitce  Dunkeldensis  Ecclesice  Episcoporum,  pp.  6, 
9,  11,  &c.]  The  Danish  Chiefs,  who,  after  the  Invasion  of  Fife, 
were  Buried  in  the  Cemetery  of  Inchcolm,  were,  as  we  have 
already  found,  Interred  there  in  the  seventh  or  last  year  of  King 
Duncan's  Reign,  or  in  A.D.  1039,  nearly  a  Century  before  the 
Date  of  Alexander's  Visit  to  the  Island.  But  if  there  was,  a 
Century  before  Alexander's  Visit,  a  Place  of  Burial  on  the  Island, 
there  was  almost  certainly  also  this  or  some  other  Chapel 
attached  to  the  Place,  as  a  Christian  Cemetery  had,  in  these 
early  times,  always  a  Christian  Chapel  or  Church  of  some  form 
attached  to  it.  The  style  and  architecture  of  the  Building  is 
apparently,  as  stated,  as  old  or  even  older  than  this;  or,  at  all 
events,  it  corresponds  to  Irish  Houses  and  Oratories  that  are 
regarded  as  having  been  built  two  or  three  Centuries  before 
the  Date  even  of  the  Sepulture  of  the  Danes  in  the  Island. 

VOL.  I.  I 


66  MONASTICON. 

Probably,  as  in  other  instances,  this  old  Building  or  Capellula 
on  Inchcolm,  served  as  a  "  desert,"  whither  the  Monks  might 
retire  for  Meditation,  without  breaking  the  Fraternal  bond. 

The  MS.  Copy  of  the  Scotichronicon,  which  belonged  to  the 
Abbey  of  Cupar,  and  which,  like  the  other  old  MS.  of  the  Scoti- 
chronicon, was  written  before  the  end  of  the  Fifteenth  Century, 
describes  Inchcolm  as  the  temporary  abode  of  S.  Columba  him- 
self, when  he  was  engaged  as  a  Missionary  among  the  Scots  and 
Picts.  "  There  are,"  observes  Father  Innes,  "  still  remaining 
many  copies  of  Fordun,  with  Continuations  of  his  History  done 
by  different  hands.  The  chief  Authors  were  Walter  Bower  or 
Bowmaker,  Abbot  of  Inchcolm;  Patrick  Kussell,  a  Carthusian 
Monk  of  Perth ;  the  Chronicle  of  Cupar  (the  Continuation  of 
Fordun),  attributed  to  Bishop  Elphinstone,  in  the  Bodleian 
Library,  and  many  others.  All  these  were  written  in  the 
Fifteenth  Age,  or  in  the  time  betwixt  Fordun  and  Boe'ce,  by  the 
best  Historians  that  Scotland  then  afforded,  and  unquestionably 
well  qualified  for  searching  into,  and  finding  out,  what  remained 
of  ancient  MSS.  Histories  anywhere  hidden  within  the  Kingdom, 
and  especially  in  Abbeys  and  Monasteries,  they  being  all  either 
Abbots  or  the  most  learned  Churchmen  or  Monks  in  their 
respective  Churches  or  Monasteries."  [Lines' s  Critical  Inquiry, 
vol.  i.,  p.  228.]  In  enumerating  the  Islands  of  the  Firth  of 
Forth,  Inchcolm  is  mentioned  in  the  Cupar  MS.  as  "alia  insuper 
insula  ad  occidens  distans  ab  Inchcketh,  quse  vocatur  .ZEmonia, 
inter  Edinburch  et  Inverkethyn:  quam  quondam  incoluit,  dum 
Pictis  et  Scotis  fidem  prcedicavit,  Sanctiis  Columba  Abbas."  [See 
Extract  in  GoodaWs  Edition  of  the  Scotichronicon,  vol.  i.,  p.  6 
(foot-note),  and  in  Colgans  Trias  Thawnaturga,  vol.  ii.,  p.  466.] 
We  do  not  know  upon  what  foundation,  if  any,  this  statement  is 
based;  but  it  is  very  evidently  an  allegation  upon  which  no 
great  assurance  can  be  placed.  Nor,  in  alluding  to  this  state- 
ment here,  is  it  argued  that  this  Cell  might  even  have  served  S. 
Columba  both  as  a  House  and  Oratory. 

The  nameless  Religious  Recluse  whom  Alexander  found 
residing  on  Inchcolm,  is  described  by  Fordun  and  Boe'ce  as 
leading  there  the  life  of  a  Hermit  (Eremita),  though  a  Follower 


ABBEY  OF  INCHCOLM.  67 

of  the  Order  or  Kule  of  Saint  Columba.  The  Ecclesiastical 
Writers  of  these  early  times  not  unfrequently  refer  to  such  self- 
denying  and  secluded  Anchorites.  The  Irish  Annals  are  full  of 
their  obits.  In  Scotland,  we  have  various  alleged  instances  of 
Caves  being  thus  employed  as  Anchorite  or  Devotional  Cells,  and 
some  of  them  still  show  rudely-cut  Altars,  Crosses,  &c., — as  the 
so-called  Cave  of  S.  Columba  on  the  shores  of  Loch  Killesfort  in 
North  Knapdale,  with  an  Altar,  a  Font  or  Piscina,  and  a  Cross 
cut  in  the  rock  [Origines  Parochiales,  vol.  ii.,  p.  40];  the  Cave  of 
S.  Kieran  on  Loch  Kilkerran  in  Kantyre  [Origines  Parochiales, 
vol.  ii.,  p.  12] ;  the  Cave  of  S.  Ninian  on  the  coast  of  Wigtown- 
shire [Old  Statistical  Account  of  Scotland,  vol.  xvii.,  p.  594] ;  the 
Cave  of  S.  Moloe  in  Holy  Island  in  the  Clyde,  with  Kunic 
Inscription  on  its  walls  [see  an  Account  of  them  in  Dr.  Daniel 
Wilson's  Prehistoric  Annals  of  Scotland,  pp.  531  to  533,  &c.] 
The  Island  of  Inchcolm  pertains  to  Fifeshire,  and  in  this  single 
County  there  are  at  least  four  Caves  that  are  averred  to  have 
been  the  Ketreats  which  early  Christian  Devotees  and  Ascetics 
occupied  as  temporary  Abodes  and  Oratories,  or  in  which  they 
occasionally  kept  their  Holy  Vigils ; — namely,  the  Cave  at  Dun- 
fermline,  which  bears  the  name  of  Malcolm  Canmore's  devout 
Saxon  Queen,  S.  Margaret,  and  which  is  said  to  have  contained 
formerly  a  Stone  Table  or  Altar,  with  "  something  like  a 
Crucifix"  upon  it  [Dr.  Chalmers'  Historical  Account  of  Dunferm- 
linc,  vol.  i.,  pp.  88,  89];  the  Cave  of  S.  Serf  at  Dysart  (the 
name  itself — Dysart — an  instance,  in  all  probability,  of  the 
"  desertum"  of  the  text,  p.  485),  in  which  that  Saint  contested 
successfully  in  debate  (according  to  the  Aberdeen  Breviary)  with 
the  Devil,  and  expelled  him  from  the  spot  [see  Breviarium  Aber- 
donense,  Hens.  Julii.,  fol.  xv.,  and  Mr.  Muirs  Notices  of  Dysart  for 
the  Maitland  Club,  p.  31 ;  the  Caves  of  Caplawchy  (Caiplie),  on 
the  east  Fifeshire  coast,  marked  interiorly  with  rude  Crosses,  &c., 
and  which,  according  to  Wynton,  were  inhabited  for  a  time  by 
"  S.  Adrian  wyth  hys  cumpany"  of  disciples  [Orygynale  Chronykel 
of  Scotland,  book  Hi.,  c.  8] ;  and  the  Cave  of  S.  Kule  at  St. 
Andrews,  containing  a  Stone  Table  or  Altar  on  its  east 
side,  and  on  its  west  side  the  supposed  Sleeping  Cell  of 


68  MONASTICON. 

the  Hermit,  excavated  out  of  the  rock  [Old  Statistical  Account,- 

vol.  xiii.] 

The  Breviary  of  Aberdeen  points  out  that  the  S.  Serf 
received  by  Adamnan  was  not  the  S.  Serf  of  the  Dysart  Cave,  and 
hence  also  not  the  baptizer  of  S.  Kentigern  at  Culross,  as  told  in 
the  Legend  of  his  mother,  S.  Thenew,  or  S.  Thenuh— a  female 
Saint  whose  very  existence  the  Presbyterians  of  Glasgow  had  so 
entirely  lost  sight  of,  that  Centuries  ago  they  unsexed  the  very 
name  of  the  Church  dedicated  to  her  in  that  city,  and  came  to 
speak  of  it  under  the  uncanonical  appellation  of  St.  Enoch's. 
This  first  S.  Serf  and  S.  Adamnan  lived  two  Centuries,  at  least, 
apart. 

James  Stuart,  of  Beith,  a  Cadet  of  the  Lord  Ochiltree,  was 
made  Commendator  of  Inchcolm  on  the  surrender  of  Henry, 
Abbot  of  the  Monastery,  in  1543.  His  second  son,  Henry 
Stuart,  was,  by  the  special  favour  of  King  James  VI.,  created  a 
Peer,  by  the  title  of  Lord  St.  Colm,  in  1611.  [Crawford's 
Peerage.] 

VALUATION  OF  THE  ABBEY  OF  INCHCOLM. 

Money,  426  Pounds  Scots  =  £138  Sterling.  Wheat,  2  Chalders,  8 
Bolls,  1  Firlot,  10  Pecks ;  Bear,  8  Chalders,  9  Pecks ;  Meal,  14  Chalders,  14 
Bolls ;  Oats,  11  Chalders,  12  Bolls. 


IV.  ST.  ANDREWS.    A.D.  1144. 

The  Priory  of  Kegular  Canons  of  S.  Augustin  was  formally 
recognised  at  St.  Andrews  in  1144,  by  Charter  of  Bishop  Eobert 
[Reg.  Prior.  S.  Andr.,  p.  122] ;  and,  shortly  after,  one  of  the 
Fraternity  undertook  to  draw  up  a  Sketch  of  the  History  of  its 
Church,  or  Book  of  Muniments,  called  "Magnum  Registrum," 
partly  with  a -view  to  appropriate  its  past  glory,  and  partly  to 
justify  the  recent  reform  of  its  economy.  The  Writer  (probably 
Bishop  Robert,  or  the  Prior  of  the  same  name)  strongly  condemns 
the  degenerate  condition  of  the  Keledei ;  and  though  the  picture 
is  perhaps  overdrawn,  as  by  an  unfriendly  hand,  and  occasionally 
indistinct  in  its  representations,  it  is  still  a  Record  of  great 
Historical  importance.  Having  adverted  to  the  decay  of  Religion 


PKIORY  OF  ST.  ANDKEWS.  69 

at  St.  Andrews,  consequent  upon  the  death  of  S.  Kegulus  and 
his  followers,  it  proceeds  to  describe  the  more  recent  particulars 
of  its  Ecclesiastical  condition  in  the  following  manner  :— 

"  There  were  kept  up,  however,  in  the  Church  of  St.  Andrew,  such  as 
it  then  was,  by  Family  succession,  a  Society  of  thirteen,  commonly  called 
'  Keledei,'  whose  manner  of  life  was  shaped  more  in  accordance  with  their 
own  fancy  and  human  Tradition,  than  with  the  Precepts  of  the  holy 
Fathers.  Nay,  even  to  the  present  day  their  practice  continues  the  same ; 
and  though  they  have  some  things  in  common,  these  are  such  as  are  less  in 
amount  and  value,  while  they  individually  enjoy  the  larger  and  better  portion, 
just  as  each  of  them  happens  to  receive  gifts,  either  from  friends  who  are 
united  to  them  by  some  private  tie,  such  as  kindred  or  connexion,  or  from  those 
whose  soul-friends,  that  is,  spiritual  advisers,  they  are,  or  from  any  other 
source.  After  they  are  made  Keledei,  they  are  not  allowed  to  keep  their  wives 
within  their  lodgings,  nor  any  other  women,  who  might  give  rise  to 
injurious  suspicions.  Moreover,  there  were  seven  Beneficiaries,. who  divided 
among  themselves  the  offerings  of  the  Altar ;  of  which  seven  portions  the 
Bishop  used  to  enjoy  but  one,  and  the  Hospital  another ;  the  remaining  five 
were  apportioned  to  the  other  five  members,  who  performed  no  duty  what- 
ever, either  at  Altar  or  Church,  and  whose  only  obligation  was  to  provide, 
after  their  custom,  lodging  and  entertainment  for  pilgrims  and  strangers, 
when  more  than  six  chanced  to  arrive,  determining  by  lot  whom  and  how 
many  each  of  them  was  to  receive.  The  Hospital,  it  is  to  be  observed,  had 
continual  accommodation  for  a  number  not  exceeding  six;  but  from  the 
time  that,  by  God's  goodness,  it  came  into  the  possession  of  the  Canons,  till 
the  present,  it  is  open  to  all  comers.  The  above-mentioned  Beneficiaries 
were  also  possessed  of  their  private  revenues  and  property,  which,  upon 
their  death,  their  wives,  whom  they  openly  lived  with,  and  their  sons  or 
daughters,  their  relatives,  or  sons-in-law,  used  to  divide  among  themselves : 
even  the  very  offerings  of  the  Altar  at  which  they  did  not  serve — a  pro- 
fanation which  one  would  blush  to  speak  of,  if  they  had  not  chosen  to  practise. 
Nor  could  this  monstrous  abuse  be  corrected  before  the  time  of  Alexander  of 
happy  memory,  a  Sovereign  of  exemplary  devotion  to  God's  Holy  Church, 
who  enriched  the  Church  of  the  blessed  Apostle  Andrew  with  possessions 
and  revenues,  loaded  it  with  many  and  valuable  gifts,  and  invested  it  with 
the  liberties,  customs,  and  royalties,  which  appertained  to  his  royal 
donation.  The  lands  also  called  'the  Boar's  Chase,'  which  King  Hungus 
had  presented  to  God  and  to  the  holy  Apostle  S.  Andrew  at  the  time  that 
the  relics  of  S.  Andrew  arrived,  but  which  were  subsequently  usurped,  he 
restored  to  their  possession,  with  the  professed  object  and  understanding 
that  a  Keligious  Society  should  be  established  in  that  Church  for  the 
maintenance  of  Divine  Worship.  Because  hitherto  there  had  been  no  pro- 
vision for  the  service  at  the  Altar  of  the  blessed  Apostle,  nor  used  Mass  to 


70  MONASTICON. 

be  Celebrated  there,  except  upon  the  rare  occasions  that  the  King  or  Bishop 
visited  the  place  ;  for  the  Keledei  were  wont  to  say  their  Office,  after  their 
own  fashion,  in  a  nook  of  a  Church,  which  was  very  small.  Of  which  Eoyal 
donation,  there  are  many  Witnesses  surviving  to  this  clay.  And  it  was 
further  confirmed  by  his  brother,  Earl  David,  whom  the  King  had  constituted 
his  heir  and  successor  upon  the  Throne  which  he  now  occupies." 

From  this  laboured  Statement  from  the  "Magnum  Bcgistmm," 
we  learn  that,  at  some  period  anterior  to  1107,  the  Ecclesiastical 
Community  of  Cill-Bighmonaigh — i.e.,  the  Church  of  S.  Eegulus 
— had  become  parted  into  two  sections,  and  that  each  carried 
with  it  a  portion  of  the  Spiritualities  and  Temporalities,  which  we 
may  reasonably  conceive  had  been  originally  combined.  One 
party  was  the  Keledei,  consisting  of  a  Prior  and  twelve  Brethren, 
who  numerically  represented  the  old  Foundation,  and,  as  Clerical 
Vicars,  performed  Divine  Service,  having  official  residences,  and 
enjoying  certain  estates,  as  well  as  the  minor  dues  of  the  Sacer- 
dotal Office.  With  them  also,  as  the  Clerical  portion  of  the 
Society,  rested  the  Election  of  the  Bishop,  when  a  vacancy 
occurred  in  the  See. — The  other  party  included  the  Bishop,  the 
eleemosynary  Establishment,  and  the  Eepresentatives  of  the 
Abbot  and  other  greater  Officers  now  secularized,  yet  enjoying, 
by  prescription,  another  portion  of  the  estates,  and  the  greater 
Ecclesiastical  dues.  The  chief  censure  is  directed  against  these; 
but  it  is  to  be  taken  with  some  limitation,  because  the  Bishop 
was  one  of  them,  and  the  Hospital  represented  another. 

In  1144,  the  Hospital  of  the  Keledei,  with  its  Parsonage  or 
Impregnation,  was  transferred  to  the  Kegular  Canons,  and  they 
were  Confirmed  in  the  possession  of  two  more  of  the  Parsonages 
which  had  already  been  assigned  to  them,  the  Bishop  retaining 
his  own  seventh,  thus  leaving  three  of  these  sinecures  in  the 
former  condition.  And  matters  continued  so  till  1156,  for  in 
that  year  Pope  Adrian  IV.  only  Confirmed  to  the  Canons-Kegular 
the  Hospital  and  their  two-sevenths.  But  in  that,  or  one  of  the 
two  following  years,  the  old  Impropriators  having  probably 
dropped  by  death,  resignation,  or  amotion,  Bishop  Kobert  granted 
to  the  Canons  all  the  portions,  reserving  only  his  own.  Finally, 
in  1162-3,  Bishop  Arnold  surrendered  his  seventh,  and  thus  put 


PEIOEY  OF  ST.  ANDKEWS.  71 

them  in  possession  of  the  whole.  The  seven  portions  were  then 
consolidated,  and  went  into  a  common  fund.  Thus,  in  the  first 
instance,  the  Eegular  Canons  seem  to  have  been  established  on 
the  reversion  of  the  secularized  property  of  the  old  Foundation. 
There  were  now  two  rival  Ecclesiastical  Bodies  in  existence 
at  St.  Andrews — one,  the  old  Corporation  of  secular  Priests,  who 
were  completely  thrown  into  the  shade,  and  shorn  of  many  of 
their  Privileges  and  Possessions ;  and  the  other,  that  of  the 
Eegular  Canons,  who  virtually  represented  the  secularized  portion 
of  the  old  Institution,  and  entered  on  the  enjoyment  of  their 
estates.  But  this  rivalry  or  co-existence  was  very  distasteful  to 
the  chief  Authorities,  both  Lay  and  Ecclesiastical,  as  soon  became 
manifest.  Immediately  upon  the  Foundation  of  the  latter  House, 
King  David,  as  he  also  did  in  the  case  of  Lochleven,  made  an 
Ordinance  that  the  Prior  and  Canons  of  St.  Andrews  should 
receive  into  corporation  with  them  the  Keledei  of  Kilrimont,  who 
were  to  become  Canons,  together  with  all  their  Possessions  and 
Kevenues ;  that  is,  provided  they  would  consent  to  conform  to 
Canonical  Rule.  But  in  case  they  should  refuse,  they  were  to 
have  a  life  interest  in  their  Possessions ;  and,  according  as  they 
dropped,  their  places  were  to  be  filled  up  on  the  new  Foundation 
by  Eegular  Canons,  whose  number  was  to  equal  that  of  the 
existing  Keledei ;  and  that  all  the  Farms,  Lands,  and  Offerings 
of  the  Keledei  should  be  transferred  to  the  use  of  the  Canons- 
Regular  of  St.  Andrews,  in  frank  and  quit  almoigne.  [See 
Charter,  Scotichronicon,  vol.  ?.,  page  122.]  In  1147,  Pope 
Eugenius  III.  decreed  that  thenceforward  the  places  of  the 
Keledei,  according  as  they  became  vacant,  should  be  filled  with 
Regular  Canons.  But  the  Keledei  were  able  to  withstand  the 
combined  efforts  of  King,  Pope,  and  Bishop  ;  for  we  meet  with  a 
recurrence  of  this  provision  under  successive  Pontiffs  till  1248 ; 
and  yet  we  find  the  Keledei  holding  their  ground.  Nay,  in 
1160,  King  Malcolm  actually  Confirmed  them  in  a  portion  of 
their  Possessions.  In  1199,  we  find  them  engaged  in  a  Con- 
troversy with  the  Prior  of  the  other  Society,  which  terminated  in 
a  compromise,  by  which  the  tithes  of  their  own  Lands  were 
secured  to  them — they,  at  the  same  time,  quitting  claim  to  all 


72  MONASTICON. 

Parochial  Fees  and  Oblations.  They  were  also  Vicars  of  the 
Church  of  the  Holy  Trinity  of  Kilrimund,  which  was  the  Parish 
Church  of  St.  Andrews.  And  it  was  not  till  1273  that  they  were 
debarred  from  the  prescriptive  right  to  take  part  in  the  Election 
of  a  Bishop.  They  met  with  like  treatment  in  1279,  and  again 
in  1297,  when  William  Comyn,  the  Provost  of  the  Keledei,  went 
to  Home,  and  lodged  a  Protest  against  the  Election  then  made, 
on  the  ground  of  their  exclusion;  but  Boniface  VIII.  decided 
against  him.  He  appealed  again  in  1328,  but  with  no  better 
success.  In  1309,  the  Keledei  were  still  in  possession  of  their 
Lands  in  the  "  Cursus  Apri."  In  1332,  when  William  Bell  was 
chosen  Bishop,  they  were  absolutely  excluded  from  taking  any 
part  in  the  Election,  and  the  claim  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
ever  after  revived.  Neither  does  the  name  "  Keledei "  occur  again 
in  existing  Records,  although  the  Corporation  still  continued  in 
the  enjoyment  of  their  Privileges  and  Possessions.  [Reeves  on 
the  Culdees,  in  Trans,  of  the  Eoyal  Irish  Academy,  pp.  155-159.] 

The  Buildings  of  the  Priory  were  situated  to  the  south  of  the 
Cathedral,  and  were  surrounded  on  the  north,  east,  and  south 
sides  by  a  magnificent  Wall,  commenced  by  Prior  John  Hepburn 
(circa)  A.D.  1516.  It  went  from  the  north-east  corner  of  the 
Cathedral  round  till  it  joined  the  walls  of  S.  Leonard's  College 
on  the  south-west.  It  remains  in  a  pretty  entire  state,  is  nearly 
a  mile  in  length,  20  feet  in  height,  and  4  in  breadth.  It  has  13 
round  and  square  Turrets,  in  each  of  which  there  is  a  Niche  for 
the  reception  of  Images.  The  Turrets  have  a  Staircase  leading 
up  to  them.  One-half  of  the  Wall— viz.,  that  part  from  the 
north-east  corner  of  the  Cathedral  down  to  the  shore — has  a 
parapet  on  each  side,  as  if  designed  for  a  pleasant  walk.  On  the 
south-east  corner  a  round  Building  stands,  which  is  believed  to 
have  been  the  Pigeon-house  of  the  Cathedral. 

There  were  three  Gates  in  the  Wall.  The  one,  which  is 
both  the  first  and  the  principal,  is  called  The  Pends,  and  shows 
magnificent  architecture,  though  dilapidated.  It  is  75  feet  long, 
and  16  broad,  and  has  two  fine  Gothic  Arches,  one  at  each  end. 
There  are  distinct  marks  of  three  intermediate  groined  Arches, 
which  supported  the  Floor  above.  The  second  Gate  is  round- 


PEIOEY  OF  ST.  ANDEEWS. 


73 


arched,  and  on  the  east  side  leading  to  the  shore.  The  third  is 
on  the  south  side,  and  was  the  one  through  which  carts  entered 
with  provisions  from  the  country  for  the  Clergy,  and  with  Teind- 
sheaves  from  the  Prior- acres,  which  lie  a  little  to  the  south. 
This  Gate  was  built  up  in  modern  times  with  coarse  mason-work, 
which  was  lately  removed,  and  replaced  hy  an  iron  railing, 
through  which  a  fine  view  of  the  Cathedral  Kuins  may  be  had. 


THE  PENDS. 


"The  Abbey  Wall,"  and  the  Grounds  enclosed  (about  20 
Acres),  were  sold  by  public  auction  in  the  Town  Hall,  by  the 
Commissioners  of  Woods  and  Forests,  to  the  United  College,  at 
the  upset  price  of  .£2600. 

Of  all  the  Buildings  which  once  stood  within  the  enclosure, 
only  a  few  vestiges  remain.  Martine,  the  Secretary  of  Arch- 
bishop Sharp,  mentions  that,  in  his  time,  there  were  fourteen 
different  Buildings,  besides  St.  Kegulus'  and  the  Cathedral. 

The  PRIOR'S  HOUSE,  called  Hospitium  Veins,  or  the  Old  Inn, 
stood  south-east  of  the  Cathedral,  and  was  the  residence  of  the 
Bishops  until  the  Castle  was  built,  and  afterwards  of  the  Priors. 
A  few  vaults  still  remain,  which  were  lately  used  as  shelters  for 
horses. 

The  CLOISTER  was  to  the  west  of  this  house.  In  it  was  held 
the  "  Senzie  Fair,"  on  the  second  week  of  Easter.  The  stalls  of 


VOL.  I. 


74  MONASTICON. 

the  merchants  were  covered  in.  The  Cloister  is  now  "Priory 
Villa"  Garden.  Its  Hot-house  Chimneys  are  built  against  the 
south  Transept  of  the  Cathedral,  and  smoke  upon  the  fine  old 
mullions ! 

The  SENZIE  HOUSE  was  the  House  of  the  Sub-Prior,  and  not 
very  long  ago  was  used  as  an  Inn.  In  Martine's  time,  it  was  in 
good  condition.  The  word  Senzie  is  said  to  signify  Consistory 
or  Assize;  and  probably  this  Ecclesiastical  Court  may  have 
.assembled  in  the  Sub-Prior's  House.  The  "Senzie  Fair"  was 
evidently  so  called  from  being  held  in  the  vicinity  of  this  Building. 

The  DORTOUR,  or  DORMITORY  of  the  Monastery,  stood  between 
the  Prior's  House  and  the  Cloister,  but  has  completely  disappeared. 

The  KEFECTORY,  or  DINING-EOOM,  was  on  the  south  side  of 
the  Cloister,  and  consisted  of  a  Hall  108  feet  long,  and  28 
feet  broad.  No  vestige  of  it  remains.  Its  site  is  now  a  Garden. 

The  GUEST  HALL  was  for  the  hospitable  entertainment  of 
Strangers  and  Pilgrims.  It  stood  within  the  precincts  of  S. 
Leonard's  College,  on  the  south-west  of  the  road  from  the  Pends 
to  the  shore. 

The  NEW  INN,  or  Novum  Hospitium,  was  erected  for  the 
Princess  Magdalene,  the  Consort  of  James  V.  Her  physicians, 
as  an  antidote  to  her  failing  health,  advised  a  residence  by  the 
healthful  shores  of  St.  Andrews.  The  Building  was  run  up  in  a 
month,  but  the  poor  Queen  never  came  to  occupy  it.  She  Died 
suddenly  at  Holyrood  Palace,  and  the  New  Inn,  100  years 
afterwards,  became  the  residence  of  the  Archbishop.  The  eastern 
Gable  remains,  and  may  be  seen  through  the  south  Gateway,  on 
the  road  leading  by  the  Abbey  Wall  from  the  Pends  to  the  shore. 

There  were  other  Offices  of  the  Monastery,  of  which  some 
vestiges  still  remain.  There  were  the  Teind  Barn,  the  Abbey 
Mill,  and  the  Granary,  the  names  of  which  denote  their  use. 
[Handy  Book  of  St.  Andrews,  p.  40.] 

PRIORS    OF    ST.    ANDREWS. 

1.  EGBERT— an   English   Augustinian   Monk.     His   name   occurs  fre- 
quently in  the  lifter  of  the  Priory.     Page  42-Pope  Innocent  II.  gives  to 
nor  Robert  and  the  Canons,  liberty  to  buy  various  necessaries  without 
payment  of  duty.     Page  43— Bishop  Robert  conveys  to  Prior  Robert  the 


PEIOEY  OF  ST.  ANDREWS.  75 

Revenues  of  Loclileveu  Priory,  consisting  of  Lands,  Villas,  Mills,  Tithes, 
certain  quantities  of  cheese,  barley,  and  pigs,  from  different  Farms ;  also 
Vestments  and  Books,  or  sets  of  Books,  a  list  of  which  are  given  in 
Scotichronicon,  paye  126.  Page  47 — Pope  Lucius  Confirms  to  Prior 
Robert  and  the  Canons  all  their  property,  A.D.  1144.  Page  48 — Pope 
Eugenius  IIL  does  the  same,  and  desires  that  the  Regular  Canons  should 
succeed  the  Culdees,  A.D.  1147.  Page  51 — Pope  Adrian  IV.,  similar  to  the 
foregoing.  He  denounces  a  solemn  Curse  on  all  who  should  Contravene  his 
Bull,  and  pronounces  a  Blessing  on  all  who  should  obey  it,  A.D.  1156. 
Page  189 — King  David  I.  Confirms  to  Prior  Robert  and  the  Canons, 
Kininmonth,  and  a  toft  in  Kilrimund.  He  was  Appointed  in  1140,  and 
Ruled  till  his  Death  in  1162. 

2.  WALTER.  He  had  been  previously  Chanter  of  the  Cathedral.  For 
24  years,  he  Ruled  the  Monastery  with  singular  good  sense.  He  Resigned, 
1186,  from  bodily  infirmity,  but  got  better  two  years  afterwards. 

8.  GILBERT  I.  was  next.  At  page  40  of  the  Register,  he  is  mentioned  as 
entering  into  an  Agreement  with  Bernard  Fraser  and  the  Heirs  of  Drem. 
[See  page  322  of  the  Register.]  Died  1188. 

4.  WALTER  again  resumed  office,  having  recovered.     His  name  occurs 
in  the  Pn'ffistcr,  as  being  concerned  in  leasing  out  certain  Lands  and  Tithes. 
Pages  306,  323— Prior  Walter  and  the  Canons  rent  to  Allan,  son  of  Simon, 
the  Land  of  Kathlac,  for  seven  solidi  yearly.     Prior  Walter  and  the  Canons 
restore  to  Allan,  son  of  Simon,  and  his  Heirs,  the  Land  of  Ketlach,  which 
his  father  gave  them,  they  paying  70  solidi  yearly  for  the  same.    Lyon  says, 
in  his  History  of  St.  Andrews,  vol.  ii.,  p.  268,  c.  33,  that  the  above  Walter 
resumed  office,  and  Died  the  same  year,  1188  ;  and  at  p.  89,  vol.  i.,  that 
"  he  lived  till  the  end  of  the  Century,  and  that  he  was  alive  in  A.D.  1195." 
He  was  alive  then  ;  for,  at  page  323  of  the  Register',  we  have  a  Convention 
between  Prior  Walter  and  the   Canons,  and  the  Abbot   and   Convent  of 
Newbottle,  of  date  A.D.  1195.     [See  also  page  338  of  the  Register.'] 

5.  THOMAS  Succeeded,  and  Died  in  1211.     He  was  previously  Sub-Prior. 
Fordun  says  that  he  was  a  man  "  of  good  conversation,  and  an  example  of 
the   whole    of  Religion."     In  the  Preface  to   the   Register,  p.   xlii.,  he  is 
mentioned  as  complaining    to    Pope   Innocent   III.   that   the    Bishop   of 
Dunkeld  had  thrust  an  Incumbent  into  the  Parish  Church  of  Meigle,  with- 
out the  consent  of  himself  and  his  Convent,  its  lawful  Patrons.     Some  of 
his  Brethren  were  stirred  up  against  him,  on  account  of  his  zeal  in  enforcing 
the  Rules  of  their  Order,  on  which  account  he  chose  to  withdraw  from  their 
society,  rather  than  countenance  their  errors.     Accordingly,  in  A.D.  1211,  he 
Resigned  his  Priorate,  and  bade  Farewell  to  his  Brethren,  many  of  whom 
would  have  gladly  retained  him.     He   shed  tears  at  his  departure.     He 
retired  to  the  Monastery  of  Coupar-Angus.     His  name  occurs  only  once  in 
the  Register,  p.  329 :  Agreement  between  Prior  Thomas  and  the  Canons, 
and  Gellin,  son  of  Gillecrist  Maccussegerai.     The  latter  gets  back  the  Land 
of  Scoonie,  which  he  had  given  in  exchange  for  Gariad ;  and  the  Canons 


76  MONASTICON. 

agree  to  feed  and  clothe  him,  and  give  him  a  Chalder  of  Oats  yearly  during 
his  life. 

6.  SIMON,  formerly  a  Canon,  as  Fordun  says,  was  "  a  man  of  honest 
life  and  laudable  conversation."     With  the  consent  of  the  Bishop  and  his 
Brethren,  he  Eesigned,  and  was  removed  to  the  inferior  Priorate  of  Loch- 
leven  in  1225.     From  the  Register,  he  seems  to  have  had  more  than  once  to 
stand  out  for  his  rights.     Page  315 — A  Litigation  between  iTror  Simon  and 
the  Canons  on  the  one  side,  and  the  Archdeacon  of  St.  Andrews  on  the 
other,  was  conducted  before  Bishop  Malvoisin  and  other  venerable  persons, 
regarding  certain  Lands.     The  former  a.re  to  have  all  the  Lands  which 
belonged  to  the  Archdeacon  within  the  Boar's  Chase ;  and  the  latter  to  have 
the  Land  which  extends  through  the  Strath  towards  Dairsey — viz.,  from  the 
Cross  erected  to  the  memory  of  Bishop  Eoger  [Scotichronicon,  vol.  /.,  p.  146] ,  to 
the  top  of  the  ridge  near  the  other  Cross,  and  along  this  ridge,  northwards,  as 
far  as  the  Eock  which  divides  Balgrove  from  Strathtyrum,  except  the  Salt- 
pan, with  its  toft  and  croft,  which  belong  to  the  Priory,  and  the  right  of 
Pasturage,  which  belongs  to  the  Burgesses,  A.D.  1212.     Page  316 — Another 
Dispute  between  Prior  Simon  and  the  Canons  on  the  one  part,  and  Master 
Patrick,  Master  of  the  Scholars  of  St.  Andrews  of  the  same  City,  on  the 
other,  before  the  Bishop  and  Archdeacon  of  Glasgow,  regarding   certain 
Eents  and  Kane.     The  late  Bishop  Malvoisin,  in  a  Dispute  between  the 
Priory  and  the  Archdeacon  of  St.  Andrews,  had  directed  that  certain  Lands 
should  remain  with  the  Priory,  but  that  it  should  pay  to  the  Archdeacon 
and  his  Successors,  for  the  use  of  the  Poor  Scholars  of  St.  Andrews,  the 
following  Eents — viz.,  from  Crigin,  20  Measures  of  Barley,  and  20  Stones  of 
Cheese;    from  Pettendrech,  20    Measures    of    Barley;    from    Nevechi,    6 
Measures  of  Barley,  &c.,  &c.     The  above  Agreement  to  hold  good  in  the 
present  Dispute,  and  the  Scholars  to  draw  the  said  Eents.     Page  320 — A 
third  Dispute  took  place  between  the  Abbot  and  Convent  of  Holyrood,  the 
Brother  Hospitalers   of  Torphichen,  and  Prior   Simon  and  the  Canons, 
regarding  the  Tithes  and  Oblations  of  Ogglisfas.     It  was  agreed  that,  as  the 
said   Tithes  and   Oblations  belonged  in  part   to  the  Priory's   Church   at 
Linlithgow,  the  Hospitalers  should  draw  the  same,  and  pay  two  silver  marks 
yearly  to  the  said  Priory.     Page  322 — A  fourth  Dispute  occurred  between 
Prior  Simon  and  the  Canons,  and  Bernard  Fraser  and  the  Heirs  of  Drem. 
The  latter  are  to  have  the  Church  of  Drem,  but  without  prejudice  to  the 
Mother  Church  of  Haddington ;  and  to  give  certain  Lands  to  the  Canons, 
•and  Pasturage  to  the  Chaplain's  cattle. 

7.  HENRY  DE  NORHAM,  formerly  a  Canon.     Fordun  says  of  him  that, 
"leaving  the  Monastery  grievously  burdened  with  debts  and  expenses,"  he 
Eesigned  in  1236.     In  the  Register,  p.  393,  we  find  that  Pope  Gregory  IX. 
commands  Henry,  Prior  of  St.  Andrews;  L.,  Archdeacon  of  the  same;  and 
E.,  Dean  of  Fife,  to  inquire  into  a  complaint  made  by  the  Monks  of  the  Isle 
of  May,   in  the   Firth   of  Forth,    against   the   Monks  of  Scone,  about  a 
Fishery  at   Inchfreth  [Inchyra] ,  on   the    Eiver   Tay.      Page   175— Prior 


PBIOKY  OF  ST.  ANDKEWS.  77 

Henry  and  the  Canons  Confirm  to  the  Canons  of  Lochleven,  the  Church 
of  Hoterniunesin  [Auchtermoonzie] ,  which  Bishop  Malvoisin  gave  them 
for  the  support  of  Pilgrims.  Page  176 — Prior  Henry  also  exempts  the 
Hospital  near  the  Bridge  of  Lochleven  for  the  reception  of  Pilgrims,  from 
the  payment  of  various  Tithes,  saving  the  rights  of  the  Church  of  Portmoak. 
Page  326 — Agreement  between  Prior  Henry  and  the  Canons  on  the  one  side, 
and  the  Bishop  and  Chapter  of  Moray,  the  Lady  Muriel  de  Kothes,  and  the 
Hospital  of  S.  Nicholas  011  the  Spey  [Boat  o'  Brig] ,  on  the  other,  respecting 
the  Church  of  Kothes  near  by,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Kiver.  This 
Church,  with  common  consent,  is  given  to  the  above  Hospital,  on  the 
condition  of  the  Priory  of  St.  Andrews  receiving  from  it  three  marks  yearly, 
A.D.  1235. 

8.  JOHN  WHYTE  restored  and  augmented  possessions  of  the  Priory  which 
his  Predecessors  had  wasted.  He  built  the  Dormitory,  Kefectory,  and  the 
great  Hall  of  the  Hospitium.  He  Died  in  1258.  It  is  stated  in  the  Register, 
p.  328,  that  an  Agreement  was  made  between  Prior  John  and  the  Canons, 
and  Duncan  de  Eamsay,  by  which  the  latter  was  to  have  his  own  Chapel, 
and  Chaplain,  and  Clayton,  on  the  condition  of  his  paying  One  Pound  of 
Frankincense  yearly  to  the  Priory,  and  not  infringing  the  rights  of  the 
Parish  of  Lathrisk.  Pages  329,  331 — A  Dispute,  in  the  eastern  Chapter  of 
Lothian,  between  Prior  John  and  the  Canons,  and  the  Master  and  Monks  of 
Haddington,  together  with  the  Prioress  and  Nuns  of  the  same  place, 
respecting  the  Tithes  of  the  King's  Garden  in  that  Town.  The  latter 
declared  their  quarrel  settled  with  the  Priory  of  St.  Andrews,  A.D.  1245. 
Page  332 — Dispute  between  Prior  John  and  the  Canons,  and  Duncan,  Earl 
of  Mar,  carried  on  before  the  Abbot  of  Lindores,  the  Priors  of  Lindores,  and 
the  Prior  of  Isle  of  May,  concerning  the  Lands  and  Tithes  of  Tharflund  and 
Miggaveth,  in  Aberdeenshire,  which  had  been  given  to  the  Priory  by  the 
said  Earl's  father.  The  Priory  gives  up  the  Tithes  to  the  Incumbent,  on 
condition  of  receiving  10  marks  yearly,  A.D.  1242.  Memorandum. — The 
Prior  of  St.  Andrews  (John  Whyte)  held  his  Court  at  Dull,  in  Atholl,  near  a 
large  Stone  on  the  west  side  of  the  Vicar's  House  ;  on  which  day,  Colin,  son 
of  Anegus,  and  Bridin,  his  son,  and  Gylis,  his  brother,  rendered  to  him  their 
homage,  as  his  liege  men,  A.D.  1244.  Page  121 — Prior  John  and  the 
Canons  give  to  the  Priory  of  Lochleven  certain  property  near  it,  reserving  to 
themselves  the  right  of  appointing  the  Prior,  who  shall  answer  to  the 
Bishop  de  spiritualibus,  but  to  them  de  tewporalibm,  and  the  observance  of 
order,  A.D.  1248. 

•  9.  GILBERT  II.,  formerly  Treasurer  of  the  Monastery,  was  Elected  its 
Prior  in  1258.  He  was  skilled  in  temporal  affairs,  but  not  very  learned. 
He  is  not  mentioned  by  name  in  the  Register;  but  the  following  Memorandum 
occurs  at  page  346 : — At  the  Justiciary  Court  of  Perth,  Falletauch  appears 
before  Freskyn  de  Moray  and  others,  against  Thomas  de  Lidel,  Attorney  for 
the  Prior  (Gilbert  II.)  and  Canons,  and  gives  up  to  them  all  right  which  he 
had  to  the  Land  of  Drumkarach,  A.D.  1260.  Died  1263. 


78 


MONASTICON. 


10.  JOHN  HADDENTON.  He  built  the  great  Hall  at  the  east  part  of  the 
Priory,  near  the  Cemetery.  He  held  office  40  years.  Died  1304.  He  was 
Buried  in  the  Chapter  House,  under  a  Stone  with  the  following  Epitaph  :— 

Corporis  efficitur  custos  hoc  petra  Johaiinis, 
Quadringinta  domiis  prior  hujus  qui  fuit  annis 
Felix  certamen  certavit  fide  fideli 
Pace  frui  coeli  concedat  ei  Deus.     Arnen. 

Translation— This  Stone  guards  the  body  of  John,  who  was  for  40 
years  the  Superior  of  this  House.  He  successfully  fought  the 
contest  with  zeal.  God  grant  him  to  enjoy  the  peace  of 
the  Faithful  in  Heaven.  Amen. 

Register,  p.  176 — Prior  John  Haddenton  and  the  Canons  give  to  Peter  de 
Campania,  the  Barony  of  Kirkness,  being  part  payment  of  £100  Sterling  of 
Pension  which  Bishop  Fraser  had  engaged  to  pay  him,  and  which  engage- 
ment they  are  to  fulfil  to  him  and  his  Heirs  for 
one  year  after  his  death.  Page  398 — Prior  John 
[Haddenton]  and  Canons  give  to  John  de  Fitkyll 
and  his  Heirs,  certain  Lands  in  Clackmannan,  on 
paying  to  them  two  silver  marks  yearly;  each 
Successor  in  his  first  year  doubling  his  payment, 
for  Ward-holding  and  other  customary  Dues.  Same 
Page — The  Prior  and  Canons  state  that,  though 
they  were  bound  to  pay  William  de  Lindsay  a 
Pension  of  £40  Sterling  yearly,  out  of  their  pro- 
perty of  Inchefreth,  Petpontin,  Eossy,  and  Fowls, 
yet  that,  owing  to  the  Invasion  of  Edward  Baliol  and 
Henry  de  Belmont,  they  could  derive  no  Revenue 
from  the  said  Lands,  and  so  were  unable  to  pay 
their  stipulated  Pension.  Page  405 — The  Prior 
[John  Haddenton]  and  Canons  hold  themselves 
dlestick  with  Candle.  A  bound  to  pay  Galfred  de  Berwick,  twenty  pound, 
Monk  is  Praying  below.  gixteen  ^^  ^  tenwu,  for  wine  sold  and 
A.D.1292.  [Chapter House,  ,  ,.  ,  .  ,.  •,  ,  .  -,^1  -n 

Westminster]  delivered  to  them  by  him,  A.D.  1291.      Page  339— 

Gilbert  de  Ballas  gives  the  Prior  [John  Haddenton] 

and  Canons,  a  right  to  construct  a  Mill-dam  on  the  Kiver  Eden  at  Dairsey, 
A.D.  1288.  Pope  Nicholas  IV.  directed  the  Prior  of  Arbroath  to  settle  a  Dis- 
pute which  had  arisen  between  Prior  Haddenton  and  his  Chapter  on  the 
one  hand,  and  David,  a  Burgess  of  Berwick,  on  the  other. 

11.  ADAM  MAUCHANE,  formerly  Archdeacon  of  St.  Andrews.     He  was 
for  nine  years  Prior.     Died  1313.     He  was  Buried  on  the  right  side  of  the 
grave  of  Prior  Haddenton,  his  Predecessor.     His  name  occurs  only  once  in 
the  Rt><iist<>r  when  he  was  Archdeacon,  as  Witness  to  a  Deed,  A.D.  1300. 

12.  JOHN  DE  FORFAR  was  a  former  Canon,  also  Vicar  of  Lochrife,  and 
Bishop  Lamberton's  Chamberlain.     He  was  Elected  Prior  by  Jot.     He  built 


On   either    side    of  S 
Andrew  is  an  Altar  Can 


PRIORY  OF  ST.  ANDREWS.  79 

the  Chamber-  adjoining  the  Cloister,  which  Prior  Louden  afterwards 
surrounded  by  a  wall.  Died  1321.  He  was  the  first  who  was  Buried  in  the 
New  Chapter  House,  which  Bishop  Lamberton  had  constructed.  His  name 
does  not  appear  in  the  Register. 

13.  JOHN  DE  GOWRY.     Fordun  says, — "Though  of  a  free  tongue,  and 
incautious  of  speech,  he  yet  Ruled  his  Monastery  with  great  skill,  prudently 
providing  against  misfortunes,  and,  when  they  befell  him,  warding  them  off 
with  dexterity.     He  Died  in  1340,  and  was  Buried  in  the  New  Chapter 
House.     He   and  his  Canons  suffered  much  from  the  Civil  Dissensions. 
When  the  English  attacked  the  Town  of  Perth,  they  razed  its  Walls  and 
Towers  ;  and  the  six  nearest   richest  Monasteries  were  Taxed  to  rebuild 
them.     The  proportion  which  the  Priory  of  St.  Andrews  had  to  pay  was  280 
silver  marks,  equal  to  £2800  Sterling. 

14.  WILLIAM  DE  LOUDEN  was  Sub-Prior.      Fordun  says, — The  works 
he  performed,  both  within  and  without  the  Monastery,  have  made  his  name 
illustrious.      He  covered  the  whole   Dormitory  with  a  magnificent  Roof; 
beneath,  with  polished  planks,  and  above  with  lead.     He  also  roofed  the  old 
Church  of  S.  Regulus,  the  eastern  Chamber,  the  four  sides  of  the  Cloister, 
and  the  south  part  of  the  Refectory.     He  caused  to  be  made,  at  the  expense 
of  the  Monastery,  the  Curtain  which  was  suspended  during  Lent  between  the 
Altar  and  the  Choir,  composed  of  various  work,  and  admirably  embroidered 
with   figures  of  men  and  animals.     Moreover,  he  built  the  new  Ustrina 
[Heating-house]  at  great  labour  and  expense.     The  Churches  belonging  to 
the  Monastery  in  Fife  and  elsewhere,  he  roofed  with  timber,  and  supplied 
with   necessary  furniture.      Perceiving  the   Church   of  Rossieclerach,   in 
Gowrie,  to  be  old  and  insufficient,  he  built  a  very  handsome  one  instead  of 
it,  though  not  on  the  same  site.      This  Prior  was  short  of  stature,  and  well 
skilled  in  learning.     He  calmly  submitted  to  the  great,  for  the  sake  of  his 
Monastery.     He  enforced  the  regular  observance  of  the  Rules  of  his  Order ; 
and  thus  he  not  only  governed,  but  greatly  improved  his  Monastery, — freed 
it  from  debt,  and  replenished  it  with  many  necessary  things,  especially  with 
100  Volumes  for  its  Library.     He  Died  in  1354,  and  was  Buried  near  his 
Predecessor,  John  of  Gowry,  in  the  New  Chapter  House.     Register,  p.  404 — 
Prior  William  and  the  Canons  let  the  half  davoch  of  land  in  Cuneveth 
[Laurencekirk]  to  Andrew  Grey,  he  paying  the  first  year  thirteen  solidi, 
four  denarii ;  the  second  year,  sixteen  solidi,  eight  denarii ;  the  third  year, 
twenty  solidi,  &c. :  the  said  Andrew  to  build  two  houses  at  his  own  expense, 
and  to  uphold  the  marches  of  the  land,  A.D.  1347. 

15.  THOMAS   BISSETT,   formerly   Sub-Prior.     Resigned   1363.     Fordun 
says, — He  was  a  man  of  noble  family  [being  the  Earl  of  Fife's  nephew] ,  but 
of  still  nobler  disposition  ;  for  he  dearly  loved  his  Brethren,  and  was  no  less 
beloved  by  them.      He  Ruled  the  Flock  committed  to  his  care  as  wisely  as 
the  times  would  permit.     The  Lord  was  with  him,  and  directed  all  his  ways. 
He  kept  always  in  mind  the  Rules  and  Institutes  of  the  Holy  Fathers, 
which  he  loved  and  observed,  admonishing  his  Brethren  to  observe  them 


go  MONASTICON. 

also.  The  manners  of  the  Canons  he  diligently  reformed,  mildly  corrected 
them  for  their  faults,  and  encouraged  the  good— knowing  that  hereunto  he 
was  called.  When  he  had  thus  for  nine  years  governed  his  Monastery,  he 
fell  into  bad  health,  and,  fearing  that  thereby  the  expenses  of  the  House 
would  increase,  he  Resigned  the  management  of  it  into  the  hands  of  the 
Bishop,  but  not  without  the  lamentation  and  expostulation  of  his  Brethren, 
who  exclaimed,  "  Why,  0  father,  dost  thou  desert  us  ?  be  favourable,  and 
leave  us  not  thus  destitute." 

16.  STEPHEN  DE  PAY.     Fordun  says, — He  was  a  venerable  man,  and 
endowed  with  all  honesty  of  manners.     He  received  his  Confirmation  and 
Blessing  from  the  hands  of  the  Bishop  [William  de  Landel] .    In  stature,  he 
was  large;    in   countenance,   agreeable ;    munificent   in   everything;    and 
beloved  by  all.     After  having  been  Prior  for  20  years,  and  having  signalised 
himself  in  repairing  the  Cathedral,   accidentally  burnt  in  his  time,  the 
Canons  unanimously  Elected  him  to  the  Episcopate.      However,  on  his 
voyage  to  Borne   for  the   Papal   Confirmation,  he   was  captured  by  the 
English,  and  brought  to  Alnwick,  where  he  Died  in  1885  or  1886.      [See 

Scotii-lll'nilicoll,   rul.   /.,  p.  202.] 

17.  ROBERT  OF  MONTROSE,  originally  a  Canon  of  the  Church,  afterwards 
Prior  of  Lochleven,  and  Official  in  the  Bishop's  Court  at  St.  Andrews.     He 
reformed  the  Discipline  of  the  Monastery,  and  improved  its  Buildings.     He 
carried  on  the  repairs  of  the  damage  done  by  the  fire,  and  finished,  at  great 
expense,  the  new  work  in  the  body  of  the  Cathedral  Church,  as  high  as  the 
roof.     Fordun  narrates  the  following  interesting  particulars : — He  was  a 
man  of  great  knowledge  and  eloquence,  and  a  distinguished  Preacher,  an 
upholder  of  the  ancient  Discipline,  a  pattern  to  the  Flock  in  the  Monastery, 
and  a  good  Shepherd  to  the  people ;  for  he  did  not  despise  the  people,  but 
instructed  them,  and  rendered  to  every  one  his  due.     He  did  not  flatter  the 
great,  nor  fear  their  threats;  he  did  not  oppress  the  poor,  but  protected 
them.      The   errors   of  those   subject   to  him   he   did  not  overlook,  but 
corrected  ;  in  all  things  showing  himself  respectful  to  his  seniors,  mild  to 
his  juniors,  gentle  to  his  Religious  Brethren,  unyielding  to  the  proud  and 
obstinate,  condescending  to  the  humble,  and  tender-hearted  to  the  penitent. 
This  being  the  case,  he  could  truly  adopt  the  language  of  the  Founder  of  his 
Order,  S.  Augustine,  who,  in  one  of  his  Epistles,  thus  speaks : — "  I  dare 
not  say  that  my  House  is  better  than  the  Ark  of  Noah,  where  one  wicked 
man  was  found;  nor  better  than  Abraham's  House,  where  it  is  said,  '  cast 
out  the  bondwoman  and  her  son  ;'  nor  better  than  Isaac's  House,  concerning 
whose  two  sons  it  is  said,  '  Jacob  have  I  loved,  but  Esau  have  I  hated  ;'  so 
I  confess  that,  from  the  time  I  began  to  serve  God,  I  have  found  that,  as  the 
best  of  men  are  to  be  met  with  in  Monasteries,  so  they  not  unfrequently 
contain  the  worst."     It  happened  that  Robert  of  Montrose   had,  in   his 
Monastery,  a  Monk  named  Thomas  Plater,  an  undisciplined  and  turbulent 
man,  whom  he  had  often  tried,  both  by  threats  and  promises,  but  in  vain, 
to  bring  to  a  sense  of  his  errors.     He  considered,  nevertheless,  that  he  who 


PRIORY  OF  ST.  ANDREWS.  81 

connives  at  another's  fault  is  guilty  of  it ;  and  that  impunity  is  the  mother 
of  insolence f  the  root  of  petulance,  and  the  nurse  of  error.  While  he  was 
revolving  in  his  mind  how  he  should  gain  his  Brother,  the  latter,  instigated 
by  the  Devil,  was  plotting  his  Superior's  destruction.  One  evening  (in 
1393),  when  the  Prior  was  alone,  and  was  going  up,  as  usual,  from  the 
Cloister  to  the  Dormitory  for  the  night,  Plater,  watching  his  opportunity, 
attacked  him,  and,  drawing  a  dagger  from  under  his  cloak,  mortally 
wounded  him.  He  survived  only  three  days ;  and,  bidding  his  Brethren 
Farewell,  slept  in  the  Lord,  and  was  Buried  in  the  New  Chapter  House. 
The  Parricide  was  apprehended  as  he  was  trying  to  make  his  escape.  Two 
days  after  the  Prior's  Funeral,  he  was  brought  forth,  clad  in  a  long  robe ; 
and,  after  a  solemn  Discourse  from  Walter  Trail  the  Bishop,  addressed  to 
the  Clergy  and  people,  he  was  thrust  bound  into  perpetual  Imprisonment. 
.  There,  partaking  scantily  of  the  bread  of  grief  and  the  water  of  affliction,  he 
soon  Died,  and  was  Buried  in  a  Dunghill. 

18.  JAMES  BISSETT.  Fordun,  or  rather  Walter  Bower,  the  Continuator 
of  Fordun,  speaks  as  if  he  had  been  personally  acquainted  with  this  Prior. 
He  goes  on  in  the  following  complimentary  panegyric : — This  Bissett  was 
nephew  of  the  most  Keligious  Father  Thomas  Bissett,  a  former  Prior  of  the 
same  Monastery,  whose  good  conduct  he  so  closely  intimated  that  he  was 
second  to  none  of  his  Predecessors.  In  carrying  on  the  repairs  of  the 
damage  caused  by  the  late  fire,  he  completed  the  roofing  of  the  Nave  of  the 
Cathedral  and  of  the  Porch,  fitted  up  the  Choir  with  Stalls,  and  finished  the 
Quadrangle  of  the  Cloister.  He  furnished  the  whole  Monastery  with  new 
Granaries,  Mills,  Calefactories  (Ustrinas),  Piggeries,  Barns,  and  Stables  ; 
and  provided  the  two  Apartments  of  the  Guest-Hall  with  Pillars  and  Glass 
Windows.  He  paved  the  exterior  and  interior  Courts  of  the  Monastery; 
and  supplied  its  Mensal  Churches,  as  well  as  all  the  other  Churches 
dependent  upon  it,  with  Vestries,  Robes  for  the  Priests,  and  other  useful 
ornaments.  He  was  like  a  shoot  of  a  true  vine  which  grows  into  a  choice 
tree,  and  yields,  by  its  abundant  fruit,  an  odour  pleasant  to  God  and  to  man. 
Moreover,  he  was  humble  and  benignant  above  all  men :  to  his  Brethren 
patient,  to  the  poor  compassionate,  and  that  in  spiritual  as  well  as  temporal 
things.  To  him  it  was  an  object  of  solicitude  that  the  Altars  should  shine, 
the  Lights  be  brilliant,  the  Priests  competent  for  their  duties,  the  Canons 
becoming  in  their  behaviour,  the  Vessels  and  Vestments  clean  and  pure, 
and  all  the  Services  of  the  Monastery  regularly  performed, — persuaded  that 
in  these  things  lay  the  honour  of  God  and  of  His  House,  the  true  significa- 
tion of  things  sacred,  the  proper  employment  of  the  Priests,  the  devotion  of 
the  people,  and  the  edification  of  all.  Whatever  he  could  save  out  of  the 
.annual  Revenues  of  the  Monastery,  he  devoted  to  the  improvement  of  the 
Cathedral,  the  rites  of  hospitality,  or  the  use  of  the  poor.  Besides  this,  he 
vigorously  sustained  several  contests,  as  well  distant  as  domestic,  in  which 
he  was  obliged  to  take  a  part  for  the  protection  of  his  Monastery.  Who  that 
VOL.  i.  L 


82  MONASTICON. 

was  adorned  with  so  many  virtues  would  not  swell  with  pride  ?  Yet  he  was 
humble ;  and,  on  the  foundation  of  humility,  he  rose  to  the  summit  of 
charity.  Who  was  weak,  and  he  was  not  weak  ?  who  was  offended,  and  he 
burned  not  ?  In  short,  he  was  all  things  to  all  the  Brethren,  that  he  might 
contribute  to  the  salvation  of  all.  This  Prior  was  tall  of  stature,  sedate  in 
manners,  and  circumspect  in  all  things.  And,  not  to  enumerate  his  other 
virtues,  he  was  grave  in.  conversation,  prudent,  affable,  and  forgiving.  He 
loved  the  humble,  and  checked  the  proud.  He  was  not  fractious  in  his 
deeds,  nor  loose  in  his  behaviour,  nor  petulant  in  his  words  ;  but  you  beheld 
in  him  the  image  and  personification  of  probity.  But  why  should  I  dwell  on 
these  particulars?  For  even  the  Holy  Church  still  proclaims,  though  I 
were  not  to  mention,  his  sound  judgment,  his  fertile  genius,  his  retentive 
memory,  his  flowing  eloquence,  and  his  laudable  actions.  How  great  and 
good  a  man  he  was,  let  the  Eeader  of  this  learn  from  the  surviving  Canons, 
and  others  who  knew  him  during  his  life.  And,  doubtless,  of  him  will  the 
Canons  tell  their  younger  Brethren,  that  the  generation  to  come  may  know 
and  put  their  trust  in  the  Lord,  and  not  forget  the  works  of  their  Prior,  but 
diligently  search  them  out.  Many  of  his  Disciples,  imbued  with  his  spirit, 
attained  the  height  of  virtue,  and,  after  his  death,  were  called  to  the  office  of 
Pastors  or  Fathers — one  of  whom  became  Bishop  of  Boss ;  two,  Abbots  of 
Scone  and  Inchcolm  respectively;  and  three  were  successively  Priors  of 
Monymusk.  Nor  need  this  be  wondered  at,  since,  by  direction  of  this 
Prior,  two  of  his  Canons  were  obliged  to  be  Licentiates  in  Decrees ;  five, 
Bachelors  in  Decrees;  and  two,  Masters  in  Theology;  one  of  whom  after- 
wards succeeded  him  in  the  Priorate.  Then  it  was  that  the  cloistered 
Garden  of  St.  Andrews,  exposed  to  the  genial  influences  of  the  south,  as 
much  abounded  with  men  illustrious  for  their  virtues,  as  it  was  productive 
of  natural  flowers.  The  Monastic  Union  flourished  in  the  Keligious 
Ceremonies,  the  Canonical  Plant  was  strengthened  by  the  cares  of  a  Martha, 
and  seraphic  zeal  overflowed  in  theological  learning.  In  the  first  of  these, 
peace  and  harmony  of  manners ;  in  the  second,  peace  and  a  due  proportion 
of  study;  in  the  third,  peace  and  progress  of  merit,  sent  up  a  melody 
pleasing  to  God  and  to  man.  Many  other  good  deeds  did  this  Prior  perform 
during  his  life ;  for  he  redeemed  the  Monastic  Lands  which  had  been  mort- 
gaged after  the  great  fire  of  the  Cathedral,  and  left  the  Monastery  not  only 
free  from  debt,  but  with  a  plentiful  store  of  iron,  lead,  planks,  timber,  coal 
(bituminis),  salt,  and  gold ;  and  a  full  concourse  of  Brethren.  He  departed 
this  life,  at  a  good  old  age,  in  the  Prior's  House,  on  the  morrow  of  the 
Nativity  of  S.  John  Baptist,  in  the  year  1416.  He  was  Prior  twenty- 
three  years,  and  was  Buried  with  his  Brethren  in  the  New  Chapter  House. 
He  will  receive,  it  is  believed,  a  reward  at  the  resurrection  of  the  just ;  for  it 
is  not  probable  that  the  goodness  of  the  great  Creator  will  pass  by  his 
Keligious  labours,  who,  by  the  abundance  of  his  benevolence,  surpassed  the 
expectations  of  those  who  were  petitioners  to  him.  The  following  is  the 
Epitaph  on  his  Tomb : — 


PKIOKY  OF  ST.  ANDEEWS.  83 

Hie  Jacobita  fulgens  velut  gemma  polita 
In  claustri  vita  vixit  velut  vir  hermita. 

Translation — Here  lies  James  Bissett,  shining  as  a  polished  gem. 
In  the  life  of  the  Cloister,  he  lived  like  a  Hermit. 

This  Prior's  name  is  found  only  twice  in  the  Register  of  the  Priory,  viz.,  in 
the  Instrument  of  Perambulation,  as  performed  in  the  presence  of  Bishop 
Trail.  Prior  Bissett  is  there  stated  to  have  been  absent  at  the  time  on 
business  at  Home.  He  is  mentioned  again,  Page  421,  as  engaging,  for  him- 
self and  Canons,  to  pay  Thomas,  Prior  of  Candida  Casa,  £20  Scots,  failing 
which,  their' goods  might  be  distrained. 

James  [Bissett] ,  Prior  of  St.  Andrews,  grants  to  Thomas  Stewart,  the 
Archdeacon,  for  the  term  of  his  life,  "  all  our  Lands  of  Balgove  and  Salt- 
cots,  with  that  part  of  our  Meadow  of  Weldene,  which  lies  on  the  north  side 
of  the  Eiver,  running  through  the  said  Meadow  (except  that  part  called 
Freremeadow),  throughout  all  the  boundaries  of  the  said  Lands  existing  at 
the  time  of  the  said  Grant,  viz.,  from  the  said  Eiver  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Meadow,  and  then  by  the  top  of  the  Hill  [ridge]  towards  the  north,  as  far  as 
the  Eock  near  which  the  Stream  falls,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Buildings  of 
Saltcots  ;  which  Eock  is  the  known  boundary  between  the  Lands  of  Balgove 
and  Stratyrum,  with  two  acres  lying  near  the  Cross  called  Sluther's  Cross, 
and  through  all  the  other  known  boundaries  of  Balgove  and  Saltcots  on  the 
west  side,  as  far  as  the  boundaries  of  Kincaple  and  Strakinnes,"  to  be  held 
by  the  said  Thomas,  he  paying  yearly  for  the  same  4  lb.,  13  solidi,  4 
denarii,  A.D.  1405. 

19.  WILLIAM  DE  CAMERA,  formerly  Sub -Prior.     On  his  way  either  to  or 
from  the  Pope,  to  whom  he  had  gone  for  Confirmation,  he  was  taken  ill  at 
Bruges,  where  he  Died  in  1417,  and  was  Buried  there  in  S.  Giles'  Church, 
before  the  Altar  of  S.  Andrew.     "  The  venerable  and  religious  John  Lyster, 
Licentiate  in  Degrees,"  happened  to  be  with  Prior  William  when  he  Died. 
Immediately  he   set   off  for  Spain,  where  Pope   Benedict  XHI.  held  his 
Court  (though  by  this  time  he  had  been  deposed  from  the  Pontificate),  and 
easily  obtained  from  him  Bulls   of  Confirmation  to  the  Priorate.     But 
meanwhile, 

20.  JAMES  HADDENSTON  was  at  Eome,  attached  to  an  Embassy  at  the 
Court   there,    sent   from  the   Duke   of  Albany  to  Pope   Martin  V.   (now 
recognised  lawful  Pontiff  by  all  Christendom),  who  Nominated  this  Hadden- 
ston  to  the  Priorate  of  St.  Andrews,  A.D.  1418.     His  Nomination  by  his 
Holiness  was  Confirmed  on  his  return  home  by  the  Canons,  as  well  as  by 
the  Three  Estates  of  the  Eealm.     In  1425,  he  returned  to  Eome,  as  one  of 
several  Ambassadors  sent  there  by  King  James  I.      [Rotuli  Scotia,  vol.  ii.,p. 
253.]     Walter  Bower  says: — After  Euling   his  Monastery  wisely  for   24 
years,  he  Died. on  the  18th  July,  1443,  and  was  honourably  Interred  in 
the  North  Wall  of  the  Lady  Chapel  of  the  Cathedral  Church,  with  this 
Epitaph : — 


8.4  MONASTICON. 

Qui  docui  mores,  mundi  vitare  favores, 
Inter  doctores  sacros  sortitus  honores, 
Vermibus  hie  donor ;  et  sic  ostendere  conor, 
Quod  sicut  ponor,  ponitur  omnis  honor. 

Translation— I,  who  taught  morals,  and  men  to  shun  the  favours 
of  the  world,  after  having  obtained  degrees  among  Doctors  of 
Divinity,  am  here  given  as  a  present  to  the  worms  :  and  so  I 
endeavoured  to  show  that,  as  I  am  laid  aside,  every  honour  is 
so  too. 

This  Prior  was  a  man  of  middling  stature,  of  a  cheerful  and  rubicund 
countenance,  courteous,  and  fair ;  severe  in  correcting,  mild  in  reproving, 
affable  in  manners,  and  prone  to  compassion ;  for  he  was  most  bountiful  to 
the  poor  and  needy,  wherein,  as  some  allege,  he  was  more  swayed  by 
ostentatious  than  charitable  motives.  But  let  them  beware  how  they  judge 
rashly;  for  I  know  that  he  gave  liberally  to  the  indigent.  Nor  did  he 
inquire  particularly  to  whom  he  gave,  knowing  that  God  does  not  so  much 
require  that  he  should  be  deserving  who  asks,  as  that  he  should  be  charitable 
who  gives.  He  was  a  hospitable  landlord ;  and  those  whom  he  could  not 
satisfy  with  delicacies,  he  entertained  with  Panis  Christ  i,  and  a  hearty 
welcome.  The  east  Gable  of  the  Cathedral  Church  he  altered  by  sub- 
stituting the  present  large  Window  for  three  smaller  ones.  He  adorned  the 
interior,  as  well  with  Carved  Stalls  as  with  the  Images  of  the  Saints.  The 
Nave,  which  before  had  been  covered  in  by  James  Bissett,  his  Predecessor,  of 
good  memory,  but  was  still  bare  and  unfurnished,  he  beautified  throughout 
with  Glass  Windows  and  Polished  Pavement ;  as  also  by  supplying  Altars, 
Images,  and  Ornaments.  He  furnished  the  Vestry  with  Eelics  at  great 
expense,  repaired  the  former  ones,  and  erected  Presses  for  containing  them. 
The  whole  Choir  of  the  Church,  the  two  .Transepts,- two  sides  of  the  square 
Cloister,  and  the  Entrance  to  the  Chapter  House,  he  laid  with  Polished 
Pavement.  He,  in  a  great  measure,  reconstructed  the  handsome  Palace 
(pulchrum  et  spectabile  palatium)  within  the  Court  of  the  Prior's  Hospitium, 
the  Oratory  and  its  Hall ;  as  also  the  Farm-steadings  belonging  to  the 
Monastery,  namely,  Balony,  Pilmore,  Segie,  and  Kinnimoth.  By  his 
influence  with  Pope  Martin  V.  and  King  James,  he  procured  for  himself  and 
Successors  the  privilege  of  wearing  the  Mitre,  Ring,  Pastoral  Staff,  and 
other  Pontifical  Insignia,  in  Parliaments,  Councils,  Synods,  and  all  Public 
Assemblies  in  Scotland.  He  amplified  the  Divine  Service  in  the  Celebration 
of  Mass  in  the  Chapel  of  our  Lady.  In  the  Faculty  of  Divinity  he 
eminently  excelled ;  and,  as  Dean  of  Theology,  installed  the  Graduates  of 
the  University.  As  Inquisitor,  he  sharply  reproved  and  confuted  Heretics 
and  Lollards.  Being  Honorary  Chaplain  to  the  Pope,  and  Collector  of 
Annates  for  Scotland  in  his  behalf,  he  undertook  a  Journey  to  Home  at  an 
advanced  age.  In  his  days,  William  Bonar,  Vicar  of  St.  Andrews,  com- 
pleted the  Altar  and  Crucifix  in  the  Nave  of  the  Church,  with  its  solid 
Throne  and  splendid  Images  ;  and  Sub-Prior  William  de  Ballochy  improved 


PEIOEY  OF  ST.  ANDEEWS.  85 

the  Sleeping  Places  in  the  Dormitory.  Finally,  at  the  time  his  Pre- 
decessor William  de  Camera  was  Prior,  Haldenston,  who  was  then  Sub- 
Prior,  renewed  the  Flooring  of  the  Eefectory, — on  account  of  all  which, 
may  his  soul  and  theirs  enjoy  Everlasting  Eest.  Amen. 

This  Prior's  name  occurs  frequently  in  the  Register.  In  1434,  he  and 
his  Canons  let  to  Walter  Monypenny  the  Farm  of  Balrymont -Easter,  for 
nine  years,  for  seven  marks  Scots  yearly,  page  423.  Again,  in  1438,  there 
is  an  Account  of  a  Process  conducted  by  him  and  his  Canons  against  James 
de  Kinninmond,  in  the  presence  of  certain  noUlcs  riri,  both  religious  and 
civil.  The  said  James  loses  his  Suit,  and  is  desired  to  be  obedient  for  the 
future  to  his  Superiors,  the  Prior  and  Canons. 

A  Denmylne  Paper,  No.  54,  furnishes  us  with  a  Protest  on  the  part  of 
this  Prior,  Dated  1431,  against  the  building  of  a  Parish  Church  in  Cupar, 
which  the  Burgesses  of  that  Town  had  rashly  and  contumaciously  begun  to 
erect,  contrary  to  the  consent  of  the  Prior  and  Canons  of  St.  Andrews, 
their  lawful  Patrons,  A.D.  1431. 

21.  WILLIAM  BONAK.  At  this  period,  Documentary  reference  is  very 
scanty.  The  Register  of  the  Priory,  and  the  Denmylne  or  Supplementary  Papers 
relating  to  the  Priory,  are  almost  entirely  mute  about  the  Ecclesiastical 
affairs  of  St.  Andrews.  Likewise  the  great  Chroniclers,  Andrew  Wyntoun 
and  John  Fordun,  drop  their  scene.  Any  Scraps  now  illustrative  of  the 
History  of  the  Priors,  are  to  be  found  in  an  8vo  MS.  in  the  University 
Library,  Edinburgh,  written  about  A.D.  1530.  From  which  we  find  that 
Bonar  succeeded  Haddenston  A.D.  1443,  that  he  Euled  the  Priory  19  years — 
a  simple-minded  man,  who  did  many  good  deeds  in  his  day.  He  furnished 
and  adorned  the  Library  with  necessary  Books,  and  expended  much  in  aid 
of  the  poor.  He  supplied,  at  considerable  expense,  great  and  small  Instru- 
ments for  the  Choir ;  as  also  the  best  red  Cape  or  large  Hood,  woven  with 
gold,  which  is  used  on  the  Chief  Festivals.  He  Died  A.D.  1462,  and  was 
Buried  at  the  Aspersarium,  where  the  Holy  Water  is  sprinkled,  under  the 
Brazen  Tablet,  on  which  are  engraved — Sub  suj'dlo  ccreo  ut  apparet  ascul- 
tantibus.  Denmylne  Papers,  No.  17 — James  [Kennedy] ,  by  the  grace  of 
God,  &c.,  to  our  beloved  Brothers  the  Sub-Prior  and  Canons,  &c.  You 
know  that  at  the  time  of  the  departure  of  William,  your  venerable  Prior, 
to  transmarine  parts,  he  fully  committed  to  us  your  temporal  and 
spiritual  government;  and  because  we  think  it  for  the  improvement  of 
Divine  Worship,  and  the  benefit  of  our  Church,  to  add  to  the  number 
of  your  Order,  we  have  consented  that  you  may  receive  among  you 
certain  qualified  persons,  according  to  the  prescribed  Eules  of  your 
Order.  Yet  we  wish  not,  nor  do  we  mean,  by  this  our  consent,  to 
create  any  claim  of  right  to  ourselves,  or  our  Successors  the  Bishops  of  St. 
Andrews;  so  far  from  it,  that  we  are  acting  in  the  name,  and  by  the 
authority  of  your  venerable  Prior,  committed  to  us  by  himself.  Moreover, 
we  hereby  engage  to  exonerate  you  from  all  responsibility  in  the  concurrence 
you  have  given  in  this  matter.  In  testimony  of  which,  &c.  At  Inchmur- 


86  MONASTICON. 

tocb,  A.D.  1457.  Also,  No.  55  contains  a  Grant  to  Prior  Bonar  and  his 
Canons,  Dated  A.D.  1445,  from  George  Lauder,  Bishop  of  Argyll,  who  was 
also  Lord  of  Balcomy,  in  the  East  Neuk  of  Fife,  giving  them  permission  to 
take  Stones  from  his  Quarry  of  Cragmore  [Craighead]  ,  for  the  building  or 
repair  of  their  Church  and  Monastery. 

22.  DAVID  EAMSAY  was  formerly  a  Canon  of  the  Priory.  The  MS. 
referred  to  above,  says  that  he  was  a  man  gentle  and  much  beloved  by  his 
Brethren,  who  did  many  good  things,  and  would  have  done  many  more  had 
he  lived.  He  furnished  the  Covering  of  the  Great  Altar,  and  built  the 
Library  of  large  square  Stones,  well  polished.  He  Died  in  1469,  having 
been  Prior  7  years. 

28.  WILLIAM  CARRON,  formerly  a  Canon.  All  that  we  find  recorded  of 
him  is,  that  he  was  a  simple  and  devout  man.  He  Died  in  the  year  of  our 
Salvation,  1482. 

24.  JOHN  HEPBURN,  on  the  premature  death  of  Archbishop  Stewart, 
aspired  to  the  Metropolitan  dignity.  He  .  was  Elected  by  the  Canons. 

He  wrested  the  Castle  of  St.  Andrews,  in 
1514,  from  the  Douglasses,  and  even 
kept  it  against  a  strong  force  with  which 
the  Earl  of  Angus  tried  to  retake  it. 
For  all  this,  he  was  induced  to  give  way 
to  the  Appointment  of  Forman  by  Pope 
Leo  X.  In  1512,  he,  in  concurrence 
with  the  Archbishop  and  King,  founded 
the  College  of  S.  Leonard's,  and  en- 
dowed it  with  the  Tithes  of  the  Parish 
of  that  name  ;  and  also  with  certain 
Funds  belonging  to  an  Hospital  situated 
within  the  precincts  of  the  Monastery, 
which  had  been  erected  in  very  ancient 

°f 


The  Arms  of  Scotland  are  above  S.  r 

Andrew;  and  below  are  the  Arms   of  *°  ***  °f  S'  AndreW' 


Hepburn,  viz.,  on  a  chevron  a  rose,  Jhe  attendance  of  these  Pilgrims  having 
between  two  lions  counter  passant.  °ff'  the  HosPltal  was  afterwards 

A.D.  1506.  [8.  Salvator's  College,  St.  converte^  _  into  an  Asylum  for  Aged 
Andrews.]  Women;  it  then  became  a  School  for 

the  education  of  youth  generally  ;  and 

now  at  length  it  was  judged  expedient  to  apply  the  Kevenues  to  the  Endow- 
ment of  a  College  for  the  study  of  Philosophy  and  Theology,  in  which  a 
certain  number  of  poor  Students  should  be  instructed  gratuitously. 

Prior  John  Hepburn  presided  over  the  Monastery  during  Archbishop 

Forman's   Episcopate,    and  Died  in  the  same  year  with  the  Archbishop 

1522).     But  being  an  able  Politician,  and  well  acquainted  with  the  state  of 

the  Country,  he  exercised  considerable  sway  over  the  counsels  of  the  Eegent 

Albany,  who  often  consulted  him  respecting  the  characters  and  strength  of 


PRIORY  OF  ST.  ANDREWS.  87 

the  different  factions  into  which  the  Scottish  Nobility  were  at  that  time 
divided. 

Towards  the  close  of  his  life,  he  built  the  extensive  and  lofty  Wall 
which  surrounds  the  Priory  and  S.  Leonard's  College,  of  which  the  greater 
part  is  still  standing.  The  reason  of  its  being  erected  at  that  particular 
time  is  not  very  apparent.  This  Wall  commences  at  the  north-east 
Buttress  of  the  east  Gable  of  the  Cathedral,  and  passes  round  by  the 
Harbour  to  the  foot  of  the  East-burn  Wynd.  It  then  runs  behind  the 
houses  on  the  west  side  of  the  Wynd  as  far  as  S.  Leonard's  Hall.  The 
remainder  no  longer  exists ;  but  it  formerly  extended  from  the  Hall  till  it 
joined  the  west  Front  of  the  Cathedral.  The  Wall  is  about  20  feet  high, 
measures  nearly  a  mile  in  extent,  and  has  13  round  or  square  Towers,  each 
of  which  has  two  or  three  richly  canopied  Niches,  which  have  long  since 
been  despoiled  of  their  Images;  for  to' the  Iconoclasts  of  the  Eeformation, 
every  saintly  resemblance  of  the  human  form  seemed  an  object  of  Idolatry, 
and  as  such  was  doomed  to  destruction.  On  various  parts  of  the  Wall  may 
be  seen  the  Arms  of  the  Prior,  viz.,  two  lions  pulling  at  a  rose,  upon  a 
chevron,  the  head  of  a  crosier  for  a  crest,  the  initials  J.  H.,  or  sometimes 
P.  J.  H.  (Prior  John  Hepburn),  and  the  motto  ad  vitam.  One  of  these  has 
the  Date  1520.  There  are  three  Gateways  in  the  Wall;  one  at  the  Harbour, 
another  on  the  south  side,  and  the  third  is  what  is  called  The  Pends.  This 
last  was  the  main  entrance  to  the  Priory,  and  must  have  been,  when 
complete,  a  very  noble  piece  of  Architecture.  It  is  77  feet  long,  and  16 
broad,  and  consists  of  two  very  elegant  pointed  Arches,  one  at  either 
extremity;  and  there  are  evident  marks  of  three  intermediate  groined 
Arches,  which  supported  Apartments  above,  where,  probably,  the  Porter  and 
other  Domestics  of  the  Priory  were  accommodated.  (See  Cut  at  page  73.) 

Boethius,  who  wrote  while  the  Priory  Wall  was  actually  in  progress — 
viz.,  in  1522 — thus  speaks  of  it  and  the  Monastery  generally,  as  well  as  of 
the  good  qualities  of  its  Religious  Inmates : — The  Monastery  (coenobium) 
also  has  been  in  our  times  greatly  decorated,  through  the  industry  of  that 
noble  and  illustrious  Coenobiarch,  John  Hepburn,  also  called  Prior,  who 
renewed  the  Buildings  which  had  become  dilapidated,  made  numerous 
improvements,  and,  at  great  expense,  adorned  the  Cathedral,  than  which 
nothing  can  be  more  suitable  for  Divine  Worship.  And  then  he  surrounded 
the  whole  with  a  Wall,  which  is  strengthened  by  numerous  projecting 
Towers.  This  Wall  also  embraces  S.  Leonard's  College,  where  the  Novices 
and  others  learn  the  Rudiments  of  Science  under  their  Preceptors,  and  are 
instructed  in  Human  and  Divine  Knowledge,  and  in  the  Precepts  of 
Religious  Obedience,  from  which  source  the  Monastery  itself  derives  addi- 
tional lustre. 

On  one  of  the  Towers  of  the  above-mentioned  Wall,  near  the  Harbour, 
is  the  following  Inscription : — EECESSOEIS  (Precessoris  ?)  OP.  POR.  (opus 
porrectum,  or,  operis  portio  ?)  me  PATET  HEPBURN  EXCOLIT  EGREGIUS  ORBE 
SALUT — ;  which  probably  means,  that  the  illustrious  Patrick  Hepburn 


88  MONASTICON. 

adorned  the  work  which  his  Predecessor  John  had  so  far  constructed,  in  the 

year . 

Prior  John  Hephurn  was  one  of  those  who  Tried,  and  Sentenced  to  be 
Burned  before  the  Gate  of  S.  Salvator's  College,  PATRICK  HAMILTON.  On 
one  of  the  walls  of  S.  Leonard's  College  is  a  Monument  to  this  Prior,  its 
principal  Founder ;  but  the  Stone  is  quite  mouldered  away — nothing  can  be 
distinctly  made  out  but  the  feeble  outline  of  a  Shield.  S.  Leonard's  Hall 
has  upon  it  the  Arms  and  Motto  of  Prior  Hepburn,  very  well  executed. 

25.  PATRICK  HEPBURN,  nephew  of  the   former,  succeeded.     On   being 
made  Bishop  of  Moray,  he  Eesigned  the  Priorate  in  1535.     This  "  Scots 
Worthy"  had  no  less  than  ten  Bastards  by  different  mothers !     Under  the 
Great  Seal  there  passed  the  following  Letters  of  Legitimation : — (1)  "  Johanni 
et  Patricis   Hepburn  bastardis   filiis  naturalibus   Patricii  Prioris    Sancti 
Andrese." — 18th    December,    1533.      (2)    "  Legitimatio    Adami,    Patricii, 
Georgii,  Johannis,  et  Patricii  Hepburn,  bastardorum  filiorum  naturalium 
Patricii  Episcopi  Moraviensis." — 4th  October,    1545.      (3)    "  Legitimatio 
Jonetae   et  Agnetis    Hepburn,   bastardarum  filiarum    naturalium    Patrici 
Moraviensis  Episcopi." — 14th  Maij,  1550.      [Reg.  May.  Sig.,  lib.  xxv.,  No. 
69;  lib.  xxix.,  No.  285;  lib.  xxx.,  No.  572— MS.  Reg.  House.]     (4)  "Agnes 
Hepburn,   another  daughter   of  the   late  Patrick,  Bishop  of   Moray,  was 
also    legitimated   on    8th  February,    1587."       \Knox1  s    Works,   vol.   i.,  ^. 
41,   Notes.     Lain  g*  8    Edition.]     See   more   of  this   Lecher   under  SEE   OF 
MORAY. 

26.  LORD  JAMES  STEWART,  Earl  of  Moray,  bastard  of  King  James  V., 
by  Lady  Margaret  Erskine,  daughter  of  John,  fifth  Earl  of  Mar,  and  fourth 

Lord  Erskine.     This  Lady   afterwards  Married 
Sir  Eobert    Douglas    of    Lochleven,   and    she 
appears  to  have  had  a  yearly  pension  from  the 
King  of  £666  13s  U.      [Treas.  "Exonemtis"  in 
September,  1539.]    Her  son  succeeded  when  a  child 
of  5  years  of  age ;  and  so  Alexander  Milne,  Abbot 
of  Cambuskenneth,  was  appointed  to  administer 
for  him  till  he  came  of  age.     He  was  the  last 
Prior  under  the  ancient  Hierarchy,  changed  with 
the  times,  became  a  zealous  plundering  "  Ee- 
The  Arms  of  Scotland  sup-    former,"    applied    to    his   own    "comfort"    the 
ported  by  the  Initials  I.  S.    Revenues  of  the  Priory  of  St.  Andrews  and  those 
Above  the  Shield  is  the  head    of  the  pri  f  Pittenweem  (of  which  he  wag 

of  a  Pastoral   Staff.     Circa    n  »  A    \     i          -,  •,       « 

A  D  1555  Commendator),  plunged  headlong  into  Sacrilege, 

Perjury,  and  Treason,  and  was  at  last  shot  dead 

at  Linlithgow  in  1570,  leaving  not  a  seed  to  inherit  his  "  virtues."  He 
is  Canonized  among  the  "  Scots  Worthies"  for  being  fruitful  in  such  "good 
works."  He  gave  in  the  Eental  of  the  Priory  in  1561  at  about  £2200  Scots, 
and  nearly  £8000  (or  440  Chalders)  in  grain.  So  he  feathered  his  Nest 
remarkably  well. 


PBIOKY  OF  ST.  ANDEEWS. 


89 


After    this,    the    Commendators,    or    Titular    Priors,    i.e., 
"  Tulchan  Calves,''  were,  successively— 

27.  KOBEKT  STEWART,  brother  of  the  above,  and  another  bastard  of  King 
James  V.  by  Euphemia  Elphinstone,  daughter  of  Lord  Elphinstone.    While 
an  infant  of  seven  years  of  age,  he  had  a  grant  of  the  Abbacy  of  Holyrood,  in 
1539.     He  Married  Lady  Jane  Kennedy,  eldest  daughter  of  Gilbert,  third 
Earl  of  Cassillis,  14th  December,  1561.     "  The  Lord  Eobert  consumeth  with 
love  for  the  Earl  of  Cassillis'  sister."     [Bandolph's  Letter  to  Cecil,  2ith  Oct., 
1561.]     He   was   " Bishop-Elect   of  Caithness"   in   1542.      He  held  the 
Superiority  of  the  Priory  Property,  together  with  a  right  to  their  Tithes, 
subject  to  certain  Pensions  which  he  promised  to  pay  out  of  them,  till  his 
Death  in  1586. 

28.  The  CROWN  in  1587,  by  the  Act  of  Annexation,  got  possession  of  the 
Priory,  and  kept  hold  till  1606. 

29.  LODOVICK,  Duke  of  Lennox,  till  1635.     "Episcopacy"  was  now 
re-established,  and  the  Eevenue  of  the  Archbishopric  was  taken  from  this 
Lodovick,  and  that  of  the  Prio-ry  given  to  him  instead,  which  was  erected 
into  a  temporal  Lordship  in  his  favour. 

30.  The  ARCHBISHOP  OF  ST.  ANDREWS,  till  King  Charles  I.  purchased  the 
Priory  in  1635,  and  annexed  it  to  the  Archbishopric  of  St.  Andrews,  in  com- 
pensation for  the  loss  which  it  sustained  by  the  erection  of  the  new  See  of 
Edinburgh. 

81.  The  UNIVERSITY,  till  the  Eestoration,  1661. 

32.  The  ARCHBISHOP  OF  ST.  ANDREWS,  till  the  Eevolution,  1688. 

83.  The  CROWN. — Honi  soft  qul  mnl  y  penw. 


From  the  Date  of  the 
Instrument  to  which  this 
Seal  is  attached,  it  evidently 
is  that  of  PRIOR  JOHN  HAD- 
DENTON,  No.  10.  Angels 
honour  the  Martyrdom  of 
S.  Andrew  on  either  side, 
holding  an  Altar  Candle- 
stick with  Candle.  Under- 
neath is  a  Monk  praying. 
There  are  twenty- six  years 


between  the  Date  of  the 
former  Seal  and  this  one. 
It  is  appended  to  a  Charter 
by  Adam  Eilconcath,  grant- 
ing the  patronage  of  the 
Church,  of  Kilconcath  [Kil- 
conquhar]  to  the  Prioress 
and  Convent  of  North  Ber- 
wick, A.D.  1266.  \Pannmre 
Charters.] 


I  acknowledge  myself  indebted  for  the  Historical  Details  of 
the  Priors  to  Lyon's  History  of  St.  Andrews,  throughout:  they 
are  painsfully  compiled  from  the  Eegister  of  the  Priory. 


VOL.  I. 


90  MONASTICON. 

VALUATION    OF    THE    PRIORY    OF    ST.  ANDREWS. 

Money,  £2237  18s  Ud.  Wheat,  38  Chalders,  1  Boll,  3  Firlots,  1  Peck ; 
Bear,  132  Chalders,  7  Bolls;  Meal,  114  Chalders,  3  Bolls,  1  Peck;  Oats, 
151  Chalders,  10  Bolls,  1  Firlot,  H  Pecks ;  Pease  and  Beans,  3  Chalders,  7 
Bolls. 

The  Cells  and  Priories  belonging  to  St.  Andrews  (whose 
Priors  in  Parliament  had  the  precedence  of  all  Abbots  and 
Priors,  by  an  Act  made  by  King  James  I.)  were  Lochleven,  Port- 
moak,  Monymusk,  the  Isle  of  May,  and  Pittenweem. 

V.  LOCHLEVEN,     A.D.  842, 

In  the  Shire  of  Kinross,  formerly  a  House  belonging  to  the 
Culdees,  in  whose  place  the  Canon-Eegulars  were  introduced  by 
the-  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews.  The  Priory  was  Dedicated  to  S. 
Serf,  or  Servanus,  a  Monk  or  Pilgrim,  who,  as  is  reported,  came 
from  Canaan  to  Inchkeith,  and  got  Merkinglass  and  Culross  for 
his  Possessions.  Brudeus,  a  Pictish  King,  Founded  this  Place  in 
honour  of  him,  and  gave  the  Isle  of  Lochleven  to  his  Culdees ; 
which  King  David  I.  bestowed  upon  St.  Andrews,  with  the  other 
Possessions  belonging  thereto.  The  Priory  is  little  more  than  a 
mile  south-east  from  the  Castle  of  Lochleven,  in  the  Loch,  the 
Kuins  whereof  appear  as  yet.  Our  famous  Historian,  Andrew 
Wyntoun,  was  Prior  of  this  Place.  His  History,  which  is  in  old 
Scottish  Metre,  is  still  extant  in  the  Advocates'  Library.  It  was 
Printed  and  Published  in  the  year  1795,  and  consists  of  two 
handsome  octavo  Volumes.  It  begins  at  the  Creation  of  the 
World,  and  concludes  with  the  Captivity  of  King  James  I.  in 
England,  during  whose  Keign  he  Died.  [Spottiswoode*] 

Wyntoun  appears  to  have  been  Born  about  the  middle  of  the 
long  Reign  of  King  David  II.,  as  he  complains  of  the  infirmities 
of  old  age  when  engaged  in  the  first  Copy  of  his  "  Cronykil" 
which  was  finished  between  the  3rd  September,  1420,  and  the 
Keturn  of  King  James  from  England,  in  April,  1424.  In  1395, 
"  Andreas  de  Wynton,  Prior  insule  lacus  de  Levin,"  was  present, 
with  others,  at  a  Perambulation  for  dividing  the  Baronies  of 
Kirkness  and  Lochor,  "  in  presentia  serenissimi  principis  Eoberti 


PEIOEY  OF  LOCHLEVEN.  91 

Ducis  Albanie."  In  1406,  lie  is  designed  "  Canonicus  Sancti 
Andree,  Prior  prioratus  insule  Sancti  Servani  infra  lacum  de 
Levin."  These  Notices  are  partly  from  the  Chartulary  of  St. 
Andrews,  and  partly  from  Extracts  taken  from  a  quarto  Volume 
of  Manuscript  Collections  belonging  to  Mr.  Henry  Malcolm,  an 
Episcopal  Minister  at  Balingry  before  the  Revolution,  who  Died 
at  Cupar  in  Fife,  about  the  year  1730.  Innes  [page  622] 
mentions  "several  authentick  acts  or  publick  instruments"  of 
Wyntoun,  as  Prior  from  1395  till  1413,  in  Extracts  from  the 
Register  of  the  Priory  of  St.  Andrews,  in  the  possession  of  the 
Earl  of  Panmure.  These  concurring  Testimonies  make  it  certain 
that  he  was  Prior  in  1395 ;  and  yet  in  Extracts  from  the  same 
Register  in  the  Harleian  Library,  No.  4628,  f,  2  b,  there  is  noted 
a  Charter,  "per  Jacobum  priorem  S.  Andree  de  Loch  Leven, 
anno  1396,"  which  must  be  a  mistake;  and,  indeed,  this  MS.  is 
very  carelessly  written,  so  by  no  means  to  be  set  in  competition 
with  the  Copy  examined  by  Innes.  [David  Macpher  son's  Preface 
to  his  Edition  of  Wyntoun,  p.  xxi.,  Notes.] 

A  primitive  Monastery  (Founded  on  an  Island  in  Loch  Leven) 
flourished  during  several  Centuries,  and  possessed  a  Chartulary 
or  Donation  Book,  written  in  Gaelic,  an  abstract  of  which,  in 
Latin,  is  preserved  in  the  Register  of  the  Priory  of  St.  Andrews. 
The  first  Memorandum  in  the  Collection  states  that,  A.D.  circ. 
842,  Brude,  son  of  Dergard,  the  last  of  the  Pictish  Kings, 
bestowed  the  Island  of  Lochleven  on  God,  S.  Servan,  and  the 
Keledean  Hermits  dwelling  there  in  Conventual  Devotion.  The 
Gaelic  is  Loch  Lcamhna,  i.e.,  "Lake  of  the  Elm."  The  River 
Leven  flows  out  of  it  on  the  south-east.  The  Island  called  the 
Inch,  about  70  acres  in  extent,  now  included  in  the  Parish  of 
Portmoak,  contains  the  site  of  the  primitive  Monastery.  Also, 
that  the  said  Keledei  made  over  the  site  of  their  Cell  to  the 
Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  upon  condition  that  he  would  provide 
them  with  food  and  raiment ;  that  Ronan,  Monk  and  Abbot,  a 
man  of  exemplary  holiness,  on  this  occasion  granted  the  Place  to 
Bishop  Fothadh,  son  of  Bren,  who  was  in  high  repute  all  through 
Scotland.  The  Bishop  then  pronounced  a  Blessing  on  all  those 
who  should  uphold  this  Covenant  between  him  and  the  Keledei, 


92  MONASTICON. 

and,  vice  versa,  his  Curse  on  all  Bishops  who  should  violate  or 
retract  the  same.  [Beg.  Prior.  S.  Andr.,  p.  113.]  This  is  a  very 
interesting  Eecord,  not  only  as  affording  a  glimpse  of  the  Scottish 
Church,  and  the  Celi-de  in  particular,  at  a  period  where  History 
is  painfully  silent,  but  as  a  striking  example  of  undesigned  coin- 
cidence between  the  independent  memorials  of  Scotland  and 
Ireland;  the  latter  of  which  record,  at  the  year  961,  "the 
Death  of  Fothadh  mac  Brain,  Scribe,  and  Bishop  of  the  Islands 
of  Alba."  [Annals  of  the  Four  Masters,  A.C.  961.  See  Beeves9 
S.  Adamnan's  Life  of  S.  Columba,  p.  394.]  He  is  the  second  of  the 
recorded  Bishops  of  St.  Andrews. 

This  is  followed  by  a  Grant  from  the  memorable  Macbeth, 
son  of  Tinloch,  and  his  wife  Gruoch,  daughter  of  Bodhe  (the 
only  ancient  Kecord  of  Macbeth's  Queen),  to  the  Keledei  of 
Lochleven,  of  certain  Lands,  one  of  the  boundaries  of  which  was 
the  Saxum  Hiberniensium.  They  gave  them  the  Lands  of  Kirk- 
ness  in  Kinross- shire,  and  the  villule  called  Pethmokanne.  This 
Grant  was  made  between  1037  and  1054.  There  is  another 
Donation  from  the  same  to  S.  Servan  of  Lochleven,  and  the 
Hermits  serving  God  in  that  place,  giving  Kirkness  free  of  all 
imposts. 

Malduin,  Tuathal,  and  Modach,  son  of  Malmichel,  successive 
Bishops  of  St.  Andrews,  appear  in  their  order  as  the  donors  of 
Lands  and  Privileges  to  the  Keledei  heremitce*  Malduin  gives  the 
Church  of  Markinch  and  its  Pertinents,  A.D.  1034-55.  Tuathal, 
Tuthald,  or  Twalda,  gives  the  Church  of  Scoonie  and  its 
Pertinents,  A.D.  1055-59.  Modach  gives  the  Church  of  Hur- 
kyndorath  [Auchterderran],  A.D.  1059-93.  [Beg.  Prior.  S.  Andr., 
Nos.  10,  11,  12.] 

In  the  early  part  of  S.  David's  Eeign,  one  Eobertus  Bur- 
gonensis  made  an  attempt  to  deprive  these  Keledei  of  some  of 
their  Possessions,  and  the  matter  was  left  to  arbitration.  Upon 
a  solemn  hearing  of  the  case,  the  Seniors  of  Fife,  among  whom 
was  Morrehat,  of  venerable  age  and  an  Irishman,  were  sworn  in 
evidence,  and  sentence  was  pronounced  by  Dufgal  films  Mocche, 
pro  monachis  id  est  Keledcis—"  for  the  Monks,  that  is,  the 
Culdees." 


PBIOKY  OF  LOCHLEVEN.  93 

Lyon,  in  his  History  of  St.  Andrews,  vol.  ii.9  p.  278,  states 
that  "  The  Culdees  complain  to  King  David  that  one  Robert  de 
Burgonensis  had  plundered  them.  The  King  sends  messengers 
through  Fife  and  Forthrif  [the  south-west  half  of  the  Counties  of 
Fife  and  Kinross  formed  the  territory  of  Fothribh],  and  assembles 
Constantine,  Earl  of  Fife,  with  his  followers,  Macbeth,  Thane  of 
Falleland  [Falkland],  and  two  (Culdean)  Bishops,  Budadh  and 
Slogadadh,  with  soldiers.  They  examine  into  the  complaint, 
and  find  the  Defendant  guilty."  To  this  averment,  Canon  Reeves 
replies  [Culdees, p.  247,  Note] : — "Lyon,  understanding  Episcopi 
as  a  nominative  plural,  unwarrantably  creates  tivo  Culdean 
Bishops,  Budadh  and  Slogadh,  who  certainly  belonged  to  no  fixed 
Dioceses."  [Hist.  St.  Andrews,  vol.  i.,  p.  36.]  As  military 
officers  of  the  Bishop,  their  names  were  in  excellent  keeping 
with  their  vocation,  for  Budadh  signifies  "victorious,"  and 
Slogadh  "  a  hosier."  [Four  Masters.] 

A.D.  1037-54,  King  Macbeth  gives,  "with  the  highest 
veneration  and  devotion  to  God,  and  Saint  Servanus  of  Loch- 
leven,  and  the  Hermits  serving  God  there,  Bolgyne,  i.e.,  the 
Village  of  Bolgie  or  Bogie,  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Leven,  in 
Parish  of  Markinch.  A.D.  1098-1107,  Edgar,  son  of  Malcolm, 
King  of  Scotland,  gave  to  the  foresaid  Keledei,  Petnemokanne 
[Portmoak].  A.D.  1070-93,  King  Malcolm  and  his  Queen 
Margaret  gave  them  the  Village  of  Balchristie,  in  the  Parish  of 
Balchristie,  in  the  Parish  of  Newburn,  Fife.  Ethelred,  son  of 
King  Malcolm,  Abbot  of  Dunkeld,  and  Earl  of  Fife,  gives  them 
Admore  [Auchmore],  on  the  Leven,  A.D.  1093-1107.  [Reg. 
Prior.  S.  Andr.] 

The  fate  of  the  Culdees,  however,  was  sealed  about  1145, 
when  King  David  declared  that  "he  had  given  and  granted  to 
the  Canons  of  St.  Andrews  the  Island  of  Lochlevene,  that  they 
might  establish  Canonical  Order  there;  and  the  Keledei  who 
shall  be  found  there,  if  they  consent  to  live  as  Regulars,  shall  be 
permitted  to  remain  in  society  with,  and  subject  to  the  others; 
but  should  any  of  them  be  disposed  to  offer  resistance,  his  will 
and  pleasure  was  that  such  should  be  expelled  from  the  Island." 
Robert,  the  English  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  who  dictated  this 


<J4 


MONASTICON. 


stern  Enactment,  was  not  slow  to  carry  its  provisions  into  effect ; 
for,  immediately  after,  lie  placed  these  Keledei  in  subjection  to 
the  Canons-Kegular  of  St.  Andrews,  and  converted  their  old 
Conventual  Possessions  into  an  endowment  for  his  newly  erected 
Priory.  He  even  transferred  the  Ecclesiastical  Vestments  which 
these  Chclede  possessed,  and  their  little  Library,  consisting  for 
the  most  part  of  Eitual  and  Patristic  Books,  the  titles  of  which 
are  recited  in  the  instrument.  [Rcg»  Prior.  S.  Andr.}  No.  14, 
and  Scotlchronicon,  vol.  /.,  p.  126.] 

Thus  terminated  the  separate  and  independent  existence  of 
one  of  the  earliest  Keligious  Foundations  in  Scotland,  which 
probably  owed  its  origin  to  S.  Serf,  in  the  dawn  of  National 
Christianization ;  and  after  a  recorded  occupation  by  Keledean 
Hermits  from  the  Ninth  Century  down,  was, 
before  the  middle  of  the  Eleventh,  brought 
into  close  connexion  with  the  See  of  St. 
Andrews,  through  the  influence  of  one  of 
the  earliest-recorded  Bishops  of  the  Scot- 
tish Church,  who  was  probably  a  Cele-de 
himself,  and  allowed  to  exercise  a  kind  of 
Episcopal  superintendence  over  his  own 
community  of  St.  Andrews  and  the  neigh- 
bouring Monasteries  —  foreshadowing  a 
function  which  afterwards  developed  itself 
in  Diocesan  Jurisdiction,  and  eventually 
became  invested  with  Metropolitan  pre- 
eminence. 

The  History  of  S.  Serb,  or  Serf,  called 
Servanus  in  Ecclesiastical  Writings,  and 
Sair  in  vulgar  use,  the  reputed  Founder  of 
the  ancient  Monastery  on  the  Inch  of  Loch- 
leven,  is  very  obscure;  and  his  Life,  the 
only  Copy  of  which  now  known  to  exist  is 
preserved  in  Dublin,  is  full  of  anachronisms  and  absurdities. 
[Primate  Marsh's  Library,  Cl.  V.  3,  Tab.  4,  No.  16.  It  occu- 
pies folios  1  to  6  in  the  quarto  Manuscripts  which  contains 
Jocelin's  Life  of  S.  Kentigern.  This  may  have  been  the 


S.  Serf  in  the  Act  of 
Benediction.  On  the 
sinister  is  an  estoile. 
This  Seal  is  appended 
to  an  Instrument  of 
Composition  between 
the  Abbey  of  North 
Berwick  and  the  Con- 
vent of  S.  Serf,  about 
the  Tithes  of  the  House 
of  the  Earl  of  Fife. 
[  Pan  mure  Cl  a  rtct  ~s .  ] 


PEIOEY  OF  LOCHLEVEN.  95 

authority  from  which  Archbishop  Ussher  made  his  Extracts, 
Brit.  Eccl.  Antiqq.  cap.  xv.  (Works,  vol.  vi.,  pp.  214,  215.J  The 
Legend  in  the  Breviary  of  Aberdeen  commemorates  Saint 
Servanus  at  July  1,  and  adds,  "Est  et  alius  sanctus  Servanus 
nacione  Israleticus,  qui  temporibus  beati  Adampnani  abbatis  in 
insula  Petmook  multis  miraculis  claruit,  prout  gesta  per  euni  in 
ejus  vita  lucidius  complectuntur."  Propr.  SS.  Part  Estival.  fol. 
16  b  a.  The  insula  Petmook  is  St.  Serfs  Isle  in  Lochleven, 
which  belongs  to  the  Parish  of  Portmoak.]  He  is  stated  therein 
to  have  been  the  son  of  "  Obeth  films  Eliud,"  a  noble  King  in 
the  land  of  Canaan,  and  his  wife,  "  Alpia  filia  regis  Arabie,"  and 
for  20  years  to  have  been  a  Bishop  in  his  native  country,  but 
that  subsequently  he  travelled  westwards,  and  reached  Scotland, 
where  he  received  Palladius  on  his  arrival,  and  became  his  Fellow- 
labourer.  Two  points,  however,  in  his  History  seem  to  be 
authentic,  viz.,  that  he  Baptised  and  Educated  S.  Kentigern 
of  Glasgow,  and  that  Culenros,  now  Culros,  on  the  Forth,  was 
his  principal  Church,  where  he  Died,  at  an  advanced  age,  about 
the  year  540.  "Alma,  daughter  of  the  King  of  Cruithne,  was 
mother  of  Serb,  son  of  Proc,  King  of  Canaan  of  Egypt ;  and  he 
is  the  venerable  old  man  who  possesses  [i.e.,  is  patron  of]  Cuilenn- 
ros  [Culros]  in  Srath  Hirenn  in  the  Comgells,  between  Sliabh 
nOchel  [the  Ochill  Hills]  and  the  sea  of  Giudi  [the  Frith  of 
Forth]."  Book  of  Lccan,  fol.  43  bb.  The  Latin  Life  points  to 
the  same  position  in  these  words  :  "Habitent  [socii  tui]  terram 
Fif,  et  a  monte  Britannorum  ad  montem  qui  dicitur  Okhel." 

Of  S.  Serf's  connexion  with  Lochleven,  the  earliest  evidence 
on  record  is  a  little  Collection  .of  Charters  now  incorporated  with 
the  Register  of  St.  Andrews.  The  Compiler  states  that  he  judged 
it  advisable  to  set  out  with  brevity,  but  in  a  collected  and  lucid 
form,  divested  of  all  Preambles  and  Verbiage,  the  Contents  of  an 
old  Volume  written  "  antiquo  Scotorum  idiomate,"  relating  to 
the  Church  of  S.  Servanus  of  the  Island  of  Lochlevine.  This 
Collection  had  come  into  the  possession  of  the  Priory  of  St. 
Andrews,  when  the  Island  and  its  appendages  were  made  over  to 
that  House.  The  original  Record,  if  now  existing,  would  be  of 
extreme  value,  not  only  for  Historical  but  Philological  purposes, 


96  MONASTICON. 

and  would  somewhat  resemble  in  nature,  but  greatly  transcend 
in  importance,  the  Gaelic  Memoranda  which  are  enrolled  in  the 
Book  of  Deir.  In  its  absence,  however,  we  possess  a  very 
valuable  Substitute,  viz.,  Registrum  Prioratus  S.  Andree,  which 
has  been  faithfully  Printed  by  the  Bannatyne  Club,  under  the 
able  Editorship  of  Cosmo  Innes,  and  made  use  of  in  this  Work. 
We  have  already  referred  to  S.  Serf  in  Scotichronicon,  vol.  i., 
p.  42.  Wyntoun,  in  his  Cronylcil,  B.  v.,  C.  xiii.,  L.  1121, 
narrates  the  Miracles  which  S.  Serf  wrought  at  Tillicoultry,  and 
also  about  his  Pet  Ram,  "  which  he  had  fed  up  of  a  lamb,"  and 
used  to  follow  him.  This  Earn  (the  Legend  says)  the  Laird  of 
Tillicoultry  coveted,  stole,  and  "  ate  him  up  in  pieces  small." 
He  was  not  "loath  to  take  an  oath"  that  he  neither  stole  nor 
ate  the  Earn,"  whereupon  the  Earn  "bleated  in  his  wayme!" 
The  Saint  predicted  that  no  Heir  born  to  the  Estate  of  Tillicoul- 
try should  ever  succeed  to  it  as  his  patrimonial  inheritance ;  and 
true  it  is,  that  the  saw,  so  far  as  History  affords  information, 
has  been  entirely  correct.  Scarcely  has  any  Estate  in  the  King- 
dom, of  the  same  extent,  so  frequently  changed  owners.  During 
the  last  two  Centuries,  it  has  been  in  the  possession  of  thirteen 
different  Families,  and  in  no  case  has  an  Heir  born  to  it  become 
the  Owner.  Lord  Colville  of  Culross,  raised  to  the  Peerage  by 
James  VI.,  after  a  life  of  military  eminence,  withdrew  to  his 
Estate  of  Tillicoultry,  in  retirement  and  tranquillity,  to  spend  his 
remaining  years.  Walking  one  day  on  a  beautiful  terrace  at  the 
north  end  of  Kirkhill,  and  looking  upward  towards  the  boughs  of 
an  aged  hawthorn,  he  accidentally  missed  his  footing,  and, 
falling  down  the  sloping  bank  of  the  terrace,  was  killed  on  the 
spot.  Fourteen  years  after  his  Death,  which  happened  in  1620, 
the  Estate  was  sold  to  Sir  William  Alexander  of  Menstry,  after- 
wards Earl  of  Stirling ;  four  years  after  whose  Death  it  was  sold, 
in  1644,  to  Sir  Alexander  Eollo  of  Duncrub.  In  1659,  it  was 
purchased  by  Mr.  Nicolson  of  Carnock;  in  1701,  by  Sir  Eobert 
Stewart,  Lord  Tillicoultry,  one  of  the  Senators  of  the  College  of 
Justice;  and,  in  1756,  by  the  Honourable  Charles  Barclay 
Maitland,  of  the  Family  of  Lauderdale.  In  1780,  it  was  acquired 
by  James  Bruce,  Esq.,  under  an  Entail  transferred  to  it  by  Act 


PKIOKY  OF  LOCHLEVEN.  97 

of  Parliament  from  the  Estate  of  Kinross,  previously  held  by  his 
Family  under  the  Entail ;  but,  remarkably  enough,  the  validity 
of  the  Entail  being  afterwards  questioned,  it  was  found,  by  the 
absence  of  a  single  expression,  to  be  null  and  void,  and  the 
Estate,  in  1806,  was  sold  to  Duncan  Glassford,  Esq.,  who  again 
disposed  of  it,  in  1810,  to  James  Erskine,  Esq.  By  Mr. 
Erskine,  it  was  sold,  in  1813,  to  Mr.  E.  Downie,  who  sold  it  in 
the  following  year  to  Mr.  Wardlaw  Kamsay.  In  1837,  the 
Estate  was  purchased  by  Patrick  Stirling,  Esq.,  who  was  killed 
by  an  accident.  His  brother,  who  was  not  born  Heir  to  the 
Estate,  succeeded  him ;  but,  in  1840,  sold  it  to  James  Anstruther, 
Esq.,  who  again  sold  it  to  his  brother,  Philip  Anstruther,  Esq., 
the  present  proprietor. 

Mr.  Paton  of  Dunfermline  has,  in  his  interesting  Museum,^ 
the  ivory  head  of  a  Staff,  which  is  said  to  have  been  S.  Serf's. 
It  has  many  emblematic  figures  in  Scrolls ;  and  S.  Peter,  holding 
a  fish  in  his  hand,  is  distinctly  discernible  on  the  top.     [Roger's 
Week  at  the  Bridge  of  Allan,  p.  116.] 

S.  Serf's  Chapel  in  Lochleven  is  but  little  known — very  few 
probably  being  aware  of  its  existence.  It  is  less  than  two  miles 
distant  from  Lochleven  Castle,  which  is  so  frequently  visited  by 
Tourists.  At  present  the  Island  is  used  as  pasture  land  for 
cattle  and  sheep ;  and  the  old  Chapel,  having  a  small  addition 
made,  about  28  years  ago,  on  its  north  side,  is  now  (1861)  used 
as  a  stable  or  shelter  for  cattle.  The  Island  is  fully  half  a  mile 
in  length  from  east  to  west,  and  extends  to  about  80  acres. 
Towards  the  east  end,  where  the  Chapel  stands,  the  ground 
gradually  rises  to  probably  about  40  feet  above  the  level  of  Loch- 
leven. To  the  east,  and  also  to  the  westward  of  the  Chapel,  are 
to  be  seen  the  half-hid  Foundations  of  other  Buildings  of  some 
extent.  The  Chapel  stands  due  east  and  west,  is  30  feet  in 
length  by  20  in  breadth ;  and  the  Walls  30  inches  in  thickness, 
and  12  feet  in  height ;  the  door  having  two  steps  entering  from 
the  south  side,  and  being  about  8  feet  high.  Less  than  30  years 
ago,  there  was  what  appeared  to  have  been  a  Stone  Font,  not 
quite  entire — now  (1861)  nearly  effaced — on  the  south  Wall, 
inside,  at  the  right  side  of  the  door,  and  about  4J  feet  from  the 

VOL.  I.  N 


98  MONASTICON. 

ground ;  and  directly  in  front  of  this  south  Wall  of  the  Chapel, 
and  also  to  the  eastward,  human  bones  have  been  found  in  great 
quantity,  some  of  them  at  a  depth  of  about  6  feet.  A  skull 
found  here,  apparently  of  great  age,  was  presented  to  the  Anti- 
quarian Museum,  Edinburgh.  Several  pieces  of  Painted  Glass 
were  also  found. 

About  30  years  ago,  when  this  Chapel  was  first  used  for  the 
sheltering  of  cattle,  a  chimney-stalk,  with  a  small  fire-place  and 
a  cottage  roof  (now  decayed),  were  added,  which  certainly  have 


CHAPEL,  s.  SERF'S  ISLAND,  LOCHLEVEN. 

not  improved  the  appearance  of  this  venerable  relic  of  antiquity. 
The  accompanying  Cut  has  been  denuded  of  these  Codicils. 
When  digging  on  the  east  side  of  the  Chapel,  a  belt  of  hewn 
stone,  laid  regularly  in  a  square  form  from  corner  to  corner,  was 
discovered.  It  was  thought  there  might  be  a  Vault  underneath, 
but  there  was  nothing  but  rubbish  found  as  deep  as  the  digging 
went.  A  small  Hand  Millstone,  with  a  hole  in  it,  was  at  same 
time  found  here.  At  the  Village  of  Kinnesswood  (the  Birthplace 
of  the  amiable  Poet,  Michael  Bruce,  who  Died  at  the  age  of  21), 
distant  about  two  miles  from  S.  Serf's  Island,  was  a  very  old 
Manufactory  for  Parchment.  It  required  seven  years'  appren- 
ticeship to  make  this  sort  of  Parchment.  When  the  Monastery 
of  Portmoak  was  destroyed,  probably  the  occupation  of  the 
Monks,  as  Manufacturers  of  Vellum  and  Parchment,  in  this 


PRIOBY  OF  POKTMOAK.  99 

locality,  was  kept  up  by  some  of  their  "  journeymen,"  to  "  turn 
the  penny."  [Paper  read  by  Dr.  Annan,  Kinross,  before  the 
Society  of  Antiquaries.} 

VALUATION   OF   THE    PRIORY   OF   LOCHLEVEN. 

Money,  £111  (Old  Money),  £36  Currency.     Bear,  28  Bolls ;  Meal,  72 
Bolls.     [MaitlamVs  Antiquities.] 


VI.  PORTMOAK,    A.D.  838, 

So  called  from  S.  Moack,  situate  in  S.  Servanus'  Isle,  in  the 
Shire  of  Kinross,  on  the  north  side  of  Lochleven,  was  Founded  by 
Eogasch,  King  of  the  Picts,  in  838  [Brockie's  MS.],  and  was  for- 
merly inhabited  by  the  Culdees.  It  was  Consecrated  to  the  Blessed 
Virgin  Mary.  The  Register  of  the  Priory  of  St.  Andrews  contains 
two  Charters,  wherein  Ernald  and  Roger,  Bishops  of  that  See, 
give  the  Church  of  Portmoak  to  the  Priory.  After  the  Monastery 
of  S.  Moack  was  incorporated  with  the  Priory  of  St.  Andrews, 
David  Benham,  Archbishop,  Consecrated  a  new  Church  at  Port- 
moak to  SS.  Stephen  and  Moack,  Martyrs,  on  x  Kal.  Aug., 
MCCXLIII.  [Reg.  Prior.  S.  Andr.]  It  was  united  to  S.  Leonard's 
College  by  John  Winram,  Sub-Prior  of  St.  Andrews,  the  5th 
Oct.,  1570.  Spottiswoode  says, — "Nothing  of  this  Monastery 
remains  save  the  Parish  Church."  That  does  not  remain  now. 

The  present  Parish  Church  was  built  in  1840.  Andrew 
Wyntoun,  the  Chronicler,  and  John  Douglas,  the  first  "  Tulchan," 
"Protestant"  Archbishop  of  St.  Andrews,  were  natives  of  Port- 
moak. Ebenezer  Erskine,  one  of  the  Founders  of  the  "  Secession 
Church"  (now,  in  the  changes  of  life,  called  the  "  U.P.  Church," 
i.e.,  "  United  Presbyterian,"  a  mixture  of  the  "  A-uld  Lichts"  and 
"  Relievers  "),  was  Minister  here  for  many  years  before  he  "  came 
out."  The  Village  of  Scotland-well  is  in  this  Parish. 

VALUATION    OF    THE    PRIORY    OF   PORTMOAK. 

Money,  £111  13s  4,1.  Bear,  1  Chalder,  12  Bolls;  Oats,  4  Chalders,  8 
Bolls, 


100  MONASTICON. 

VII.  MONYMUSK,     A.D.  1080, 

In  the  Shire  of  Aberdeen.  It  was  formerly  possessed  by  the 
Culdees.  Gilchrist,  Earl  of  Mar,  in  the  Eeign  of  King  William 
the  Lion,  built  here  a  Priory  for  the  Canon-Regulars  of  St. 
Andrews.  After  which  the  Culdees  were  turned  out  of  their 
Possessions,  which  were  bestowed  upon  the  Canons  of  this  place 
by  the  Bishops  of  St.  Andrews.  The  place  was  Dedicated  to  the 
Virgin  Mary,  and  was  annexed  to  the  Bishopric  of  Dunblane  by 
King  James  VI.,  in  the  year  1617.  [Spottiswoode.] 

The  Founder  of  the  Church  of  Monymusk,  in  Aberdeenshire, 
is  said  to  have  been  Malcolm  III.  (Canmore),  who,  about  A.D. 
1080,  when  proceeding  on  a  military  expedition  against  the 
"  Kebels  of  Murray,"  happened  to  come  to  Monymusk,  and  there 
learnt  that  all  the  north  parts  of  Scotland  and  the  Isles  were 
confederate  with  those  of  Murray  against  him, — Koss  and 
Caithness,  with  sundry  other  people  thereabout.  These  not  only 
slew  his  servants  and  ministers  of  justice,  but,  by  the  assistance 
of  MacDuncan,  made  more  hardships  and  slaughter  than  were 
heard  any  time  before.  MacDuif  was  sent,  with  an  Army  from 
Mar,  to  punish  their  cruelties ;  but  the  inhabitants  stopped  his 
invasion  by  their  money.  King  Malcolm  demanded  of  his 
Treasurer  if  any  Lands  in  those  "bounds"  pertained  to  the 
Crown,  who  advertised  him  that  the  Barony  of  Monymusk 
pertained  thereto.  [Bellenden's  Croniklis  of  Scot.,  b.  xii.,  ch.  xi.9 
vol.  ii.,  p.  283.]  He  vowed  that  if  he  returned  in  safety,  he 
would  make  such  an  offering  to  God  and  S.  Andrew. 

He  overran  the  District,  subdued  the  enemies  of  his  Crown ; 
and  these  Lands  were,  by  Charter,  conferred  about  A.D.  1080 
upon  the  Culdee  Church  at  Monymusk,  by  King  Malcolm,  now 
comprising  the  Parishes  of  Keig  and  Monymusk,  and  a  part  of 
the  Parishes  of  Oyne,  Chapel  of  Garioch,  and  Cluny.  [Marchie 
terrarum  Episcopalium  de  Kege  et  Monymusk  concessarum 
ecclesie  Sancti  Andree  per  Malcolmum  Kegem  Scotorum  pront  in 
carta  desuper  confecta  latius  continetur.  Extractum  ex  Kegistro 
Sancti  Andree  per  Magistrum  Walterum  Bannantyn. — From  a 
Paper  in  the  Charter  Chest  at  Monymusk,  in  the  handwriting  of 


PKIOKY  OF  MONYMUSK.  101 

the  Sixteenth  Century,  collated  with  an  older  but  less  perfect 
Copy,  in  the  Charter  Chest  at  Whitehaugh — Etsunt  istse  Marchie 
quas  reliquit  Malcolmus  Kex  propter  victoriam  ei  concessam  Deo 
et  ecclesie  Beate  Marie  de  Monymusk,  clans  benedictionem  Dei  et 
Sancte  Marie  omnibus  juro  ipsius  ecclesie  seruantibus.  Collec- 
tions for  a  History  of  the  Shires  of  Aberdeen  and  Banff,  1843. 
Edited  by  Joseph  Kobertson,  Esq.,  for  the  Spalding  Club.]  The 
extent  of  these  Lands  is  considerable,  and  they  are  mostly  com- 
posed of  cultivated  ground,  unless  the  half  of  the  Hill  of 
Bennochie,  which  is  incapable  of  cultivation,  but  is  now,  for  the 
most  part,  planted  with  trees,  and  will  form  a  large  forest.  The 
united  properties  represent  a  quadrilateral  figure,  the  northern 
boundary  being  about  14  miles  in  length,  bending  a  little  towards 
the  south  near  the  east  end,  the  southern  line  being  almost  a 


Seal. — Blessed  Virgin  and  Child  Counter  Seal. — Cruciform  Build- 

seated  within  a  line  Niche.  ing,   with    Central   Tower,    indi- 

cating   the   Monastery.     [Mony- 
musk Charters,  A.D.  1550.] 

parallel  to  it,  and  about  10  miles  in  length.  The  east  line 
extends  about  11  miles,  but  is  more  irregular  in  its  course,  and 
bends  due  eastward  to  a  point,  where  it  meets  the  Eiver  Don, 
near  Kemnay  Manse.  The  west  line,  forming  a  right  angle  with 
the  northern  boundary,  measures  about  twelve  miles,  and 
describes  a  tongue  with  the  south  line  on  Corennie  Hill,  at  the 
south-west  corner  of  the  quadrangle,  the  contents  of  the  whole 
figure  being  about  138  square  miles,  and  the  circumference 
upwards  of  47  miles.  It  is  intersected  by  the  Eiver  Don,  which 


102  MONASTICON. 

divides  it  nearly  into  two  equal  parts,  entering  considerably  north 
of  the  middle  of  the  west  boundary,  and  issuing  at  the  south-east 
comer  of  this  quadrilateral  figure. 

The  Priory  consisted  of  one  Oratory,  one  Dining-Room,  and 
one  Dortour  or  Dormitory,  but  no  Cemetery  for  Burial.  It  was 
also  endowed  still  further  by  Robert,  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  who 
lived  between  A.D.  1138  and  1153;  by  Roger,  Earl  of  Buchan, 
before  1179 — [Carta  Rogeri  Comitis  du  Bouchan  de  grano  et 
caseo  de  Foedarg,  etc.  (forte-ante  A.D.  1179).  Keledeis  de 
Munimusc.  Boetius  in  Malcolmum  tertium  (f.  2586) ;  Buchan. 
rerum  Scot.  Hist.,  lib.  27,  c.  20. — Arclibislwp  Spottiswoode's 
"History  of  the  Church  of  Scotland."  Lond.,  1672,  fol.] ;  by 
Gilcrist,  Earl  of  Mar,  who  bestowed  upon  it  the  Churches  of 
Loychel,  Ruthauen,  and  Inuernochin  or  Strathdon,  between  1199 
and  1207.  [Carta  Johannis  Aberdonensis  Ecclesie  ministri 
Canonicis  de  Munimusc  de  ecclesiis  de  Loychel. — Ruthauen  et 
Inuernochin  Liber  cartarum.  Prior  atus  S.  Andree,  pp.  374,  375, 
inter  A.D.  1199,  et  A.D.  1207.]  These  Possessions  bestowed  by 
Gilcrist,  Earl  of  Mar,  and  the  Churches  of  Saint  Andrew  de 
Afford,  Saint  Diaconianus  de  Kege,  Saint  Marnoc  de  Loychel, 
and  Saint  Mary  de  Nemoth,  and  all  the  Lands,  Tithes,  and 
Pertinents  belonging  to  them,  were  Confirmed  by  Pope  Innocent, 
between  -1198  and  1216.  [Litera  Domine  Pape  Innocencii. 
Ibid,  pp.  375,  376,  inter  A.D.  1198  et  A.D.  1216.  Confirmatio 
Innocencii  Pape  Priori  et  Conuentui  di  Munimusc,  &c.,  A.D. 
1245.]  By  another  Deed  of  Pope  Innocent,  the  Churches  of 
Saint  Andrew  de  Afford,  Saint  Marnoc  de  Loychel,  Saint 
Diaconianus  de  Kege,  and  Saint  Andrew  de  Kindrocht,  were 
Confirmed  A.D.  1245  to  the  Priory  and  Convent  of  Monymusk. 
[Confirmatio  Innocencii  Pape  Priori  et  Conuentui  de  Munimusc 
de  ecclesiis  Sancti  Andree  de  Afford  Sancti  Marnoci  de  Loychel 
Sancti  Diaconiani  de  Kege  et  Sancti  Andree  de  Kindrocht,  A.D. 
1245.] 

This  Priory  consisted  at  first  of  Culdees;  but,  in  A.D.  1211, 
a  Complaint  was  laid  before  Pope  Innocent  by  William  Malvoisin, 
Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  in  which  he  stated  that  certain  Keledei 
who  professed  to  be  Canons,  and  certain  others  of  the  Diocese  of 


PRIORY  OF  MONYMUSK.  108 

Aberdeen,  in  the  Town  of  Monymusk,  which  pertained  to  him, 
were  endeavouring  to  establish  a  system  of  Regular  Canons,  con- 
trary to  right  and  his  desire.  Whereupon,  a  Commission  was 
issued  to  the  Abbots  of  Melrose  and  Dryburg,  and  the  Archdeacon 
of  Glasgow,  empowering  them  to  examine  into  the  case,  and 
adjudicate  thereon.  The  Dispute  seems  to  have  arisen  between 
Bricius  or  Brice,  Prior  of  the  Culdees,  and  Bishop  Malvoisin. 
Accordingly,  they  held  their  Convention,  and  their  decision  was 
that  the  twelve  Culdees,  with  their  Prior,  of  which  the  Priory 
seems  to  have  now  consisted,  were  taken  bound  to  present  a  leet 
of  three  to  the  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  out  of  which  he  was  to 
make  choice  of  one,  whom  he  nominated  Prior  or  Master  of  the 
Culdees,  with  power  to  exercise  his  authority  over  them,  but  not 
to  alter  the  Order  of  Monks  or  Canons  without  his  consent. 
[Confinnatio  Conuensionis  inter  W.  Episcopum  Sancti  Andree 
et  Keledeis  de  Munimusc.  Ibid,  and  Spalding  Club ;  Collections 
on  the  Shire  of  Aberdeen,  pp.  174,  175.]  They  were  to  have  no 
Churchyard — the  bodies  of  such  as  belonged  to  it  were  to  be 
Buried  in  the  Churchyard  of  the  Parish  Church  of  Monymusk ; 
and  when  the  Bishop  visited  Monymusk,  they  were  required  to 
meet  him  in  solemn  Procession.  [Confirmatio  Conuensionis 
inter  W.  Episc.  St.  Andree  et  Keledeos  de  Munimusc,  A.D. 
1211.] 

This  change  seems  to  have  originated  in  the  Culdees  them- 
selves, from  a  sense  of  their  defects.  After  having  submitted  to 
the  new  Regimen,  they  were  not  permitted  to  hold  Lands  without 
the  consent  of  the  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  or  even  to  acquire 
possession  of  property  to  which  he  had  not  first  given  his  assent. 
And  as  the  Lands  which  were  the  gift  of  Gilcrist,  the  Earl  of 
Mar,  to  the  Culdees  of  Monymusk,  Dolbethok,  and  Fornathy, 
had  never  been  given  with  his  permission,  they  were  obliged  to 
resign  them  into  the  hand  of  the  Bishop.  [Confirmatio  Conu- 
ensionis inter  W.  Episcopum  Sancti  Andree  et  Keledeos  de 
Munimusc,  A.D.  1211.] 

The  Disputes  between  the  Culdees  and  Canons-Regular  were 
carried  on  with  great  acrimony.  The  Church  extended,  through 
Innocent  III.,  protection  to  the  Culdees  of  Monymusk,  after  they 


104  MONASTICON. 

had  become  Canons,  and  Confirmed  their  Eights  and  Privileges  ; 
and  for  this  the  Pope  received  two  Shillings  Stg.  annually  from 
the  Priory  of  Monymusk,  now  a  recognised  Cell  of  St.  Andrews. 
[Ad  indicium  autem  hujus  protectionis  ab  apostolica  sede  percepte 
duos  solidos  sterlingorum  nobis  nostrisque  successoribus  annis 
singulis  persoluetis.  Datum  Yiterbii  xii.,  Kalendas  Julii,  etc. 
Litera  Domini  Pape  Innocencii  inter  A.D.  1198  et  A.D.  1216. 
Confirmatio  Conuensionis  inter  W.  Epis.  A.D.  1211.] 

David,  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  before  1253,  restored  to  the 
Prior  and  Canons  of  Monymusk,  one  of  the  properties  which  had 
originally  been  the  gift  of  the  Earl  of  Mar,  Dolbethok,  with  all 
its  Pertinents  and  Privileges,  for  the  support  of  the  poor,  and  the 
travellers  who  might  wander  in  that  direction — a  most  judicious 
gift,  had  it  not  been  their  own  property.  [Carta  David  Episcopi 
Sancti  Andree  de  Dolbethoc  inter  A.D.  1233  et  A.D.  1253.  Vid. 
Liber.  Cartarum  Prioratus  S.  Andree,  p.  369. — Spaldiny  Clul 
Collections,  p.  177.] 

Along  with  Dolbethok  de  Loychel,  the  Lands  of  Eglismeneyt- 
tok  were  Confirmed  to  their  possessors  by  Pope  Innocent ;  and  if 
any  one  should  dare  to  infringe  this  Act,  or  dispossess  them,  he 
should  feel  the  indignation  of  the  Omnipotent  God,  and  of  the 
Apostles  Peter  and  Paul.  [Confirmatio  ejusdem  Innocencii 
Pape  de  terris  de  Dolbethoc  de  Loychel  et  de  Eglismeneyttok, 
A.D.  1245.] 

William  Lamberton,  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  in  A.D.  1300, 
changed  the  Culdees  and  Monks  of  Monymusk  into  Augustinian 
Canons-Regular,  such  as  were  those  of  the  Priory  of  St. 
Andrews.  They  now  wore  their  distinguishing  Dress.  The 
Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  who  had  now  acquired  possession  of  the 
Lands  of  Keig  and  Monymusk,  and  other  Culdean  properties, 
had  them  constituted  into  a  Barony  or  Eegality.  He  sat  as 
Lord  Keig  and  Monymusk  in  the  Scottish  Parliament.  [Charter 
by  Cardinal  David  Beaton,  Archbishop  of  St.  Andrews,  to 
George,  Earl  of  Huntly,  Cartulary  at  Gordon  Castle,  1543.  See 
"  Scottish  Heroes  in  the  Days  of  Wallace  and  Bruce,"  by  Rev. 
Alexander  Low,  Minister  of  Keig,  vol.  ii.,  Appendix,  p.  391.] 


PEIOEY  OF  MONYMUSK.  105 


PRIORS    OF   MONYMUSK. 

1.  BRICIUS,  or  BRICE,  A.D.  1211,  is  noticed  above  as  first  Prior  of  the 
Culdees,  here  recorded  in  Charter.     It  appears  that  in  1496-7,  Lord  Forbes, 
who   afterwards   obtained  possession   of  the   Lands  in  Keig,  which  were 
originally  Culdee  Lands,  and  belonged  to  the  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  had  in 
some  way  to  account  for  the  Teinds  at  this  period.   A  Letter  was  directed  in 
the  King's  name  to  the  Lord  Forbes,  Duncan  Forbes,  and  his  wife,  to  have 
no  intromissions  with  the  Teinds  of  Monymusk,  pertaining  to  Master  Gavin 
of  Douglas,  and  to  charge  the  Parishioners  to  pay  their  Tithes  to  him  and 
his   Factors,  according  to  the  Prior's  Letters,  and  to   summon  the   said 
persons  for  the  12th  of  October.      [Lettre  for  Master  Gawane  of  Douglas, 
"  Eegistrum  De  deliberation  Dominorum  Consilii."] 

2.  STRACHAN  was  Prior  in  the  Eeign  of  James  IV.,  whose  Priory  Church 
was  Dedicated  to  Saint  John.     He  had  a  "natural  daughter,"  who  was 
Married  to  William  Forbes,  in  Abersnithock,  in  Monymusk,  grandson  to  Sir 
John  Forbes,  first  Laird  of  Tolquhon.     [Lumsden's  Genealogy  of  Forbes,  p. 
35,  edit.  1819.] 

3.  Dompmts  JOHN  HAY  was  a  Canon-Eegular  at  Monymusk  in  1524,  and 
Master  Thomas  Sherer  was  Vicar  in  that  Convent.     He  delivered  with  his 
own  hand  to  Thomas  Eounald,  in  Crag,  for  preservation,  a  sum  of  Money, 
and  a  Silver  Girdle,  with  suitable  Armour  of  the  same,  a  Collar,  a  Silver 
Cross  adorned  with  Jewels,  two  small  Sleeves,  and  a  Casket  or  small  Chest. 
He  was  exonerated  by  a  Deed  for  so  doing.     [Thomas  Eounaldi  fatetur  se 
recepisse  pecuniam  et  bona  prius  data.     Magistro  Thoma  Scherer  vicario  de 
Monymvsk,  A.D.  1524.     Antiquities  of  the  Shires  of  Aberdeen  and  Banff. — 
Spaldimj  Club.] 

4.  Dompnns  JOHN  AKYNHEID. 

5.  Dompnus  DAVID  FARLIE  was  Prior  in  1522.     He  had  been  appointed 
Successor  to  Dompmts  John  Akynheid,  in  virtue  of  an  Apostolic  injunction, 
for  whom  was  reserved,  if  not  the  rights,  at  least  the  fruits  of  the  Benefice. 
[Instruments  taken  upon  the  Induction  of  Dene  David  Farlie  into  the  Priory 
of  Monymvsk,  the  fruits  being  reserved  to  Dene  John  Akyiiheid,  the  late 
Prior,  A.D.  1522.] 

6.  THOMAS   DAVIDSONS,   of  Auchinhamperis,   the    Procurator   of    the 
venerable   Eeligious   Father,   Dompnus   John  Akynheid,  who   enjoyed  the 
fruits  of  the  Monastery  of  Monymusk,  which  were  taxed  to  the  amount  of 
twelve  pounds —  [Instrument  upon  the  refusal  of  the  King's  Pursuivant  to 
receive  eight  pounds  in  part  payment  of  the  sum  of  twelve  pounds  taxed  by 
the  Lords  of  Council  upon  John,  Usufructuary  of  Monymvsk,  A.D.  1527]  — 
had  access  to  the  presence  of  Lord  Forbes,  who  promised  that  he  would 
take  possession  with  his  own  hand,  and  defend  the  Priory  and  Monastery  of 
Monymusk,  and  the  "usufruct"  of  the  same,  in  all  his  own  causes  and 
actions,  upon  which  Thomas  took  instruments.     [In  the  General  Eegister 
House,  Edinburgh.     Spalding  Club :  Antiquities  of  the  Counties  of  Aberdeen 

VOL.  i.  o 


106  MONASTICON. 

and  Banff,  vol.  iii.,  p.  486.]  For  this  protection,  extended  to  the  Monastery, 
Lord  Forbes  received  from  the  Prior  some  privileges  and  remuneration. — 
10th  December,  1524. 

7.  Dene  ALEXANDER  SPENS. 

8.  Dene  EICHAET  STRAQUHYNE. 

9.  Dene  DAVID  FAKLIE.     A  new  Seal,  which  had  been  made  for  Dene 
David  Farlie,  the  Prior,  was  this  year  (1525)  cancelled,  and  rendered  of  no 
value  in  Confirming  Deeds,  by  an  instrument  which  was  drawn  up  in  the 
Cemetery   of    the   Priory.      [Instrumentum    super   cassatione   noui   sigilli 
Monasterii  de  Monimvsk,  A.D.  1525.      In  General  Kegister  House,  Edin- 
burgh.    Spalding  Club :  Antiquities  of  the  Counties  of  Aberdeen  and  Banff, 
vol.  iii.,  p.  487.] 

The  Priors  were  accustomed  to  give  Charters  and  Tacks  upon  the 
Lands  of  the  Monastery,  and  to  revoke  them.  A  Deed  of  this  Description, 
which  had  been  given  by  Dene  Alexander  Spens,  and  Dene  Eichart  Stra- 
quhyne,  some  time  Priors  of  Monymusk,  and  Deeds  of  all  other  Priors,  both 
before  and  since,  and  Canons  made  to  Duncane  Dauidsone  or  Thomsone,  and 
to  Thomas  Dauidson,  his  son,  on  the  Lands  of  Easter  Loquhel  and  Wester 
Foulis,  with  the  Mill  and  their  Pertinents,  were  revoked,  annulled,  and  ren- 
dered of  none  effect.  This  was  done  by  Dompnus  or  Dene  David  Farlie,  Prior 
of  the  Monastery  and  Abbacy  of  Monymusk,  of  the  Order  of  S.  Augustine, 
within  the  Diocese  of  Aberdeen,  with  consent  and  assent  of  a  Keverend 
Father,  Dene  John  Akynheid,  and  Usufructuare  of  the  same,  and  also  with 
consent  of  said  Monastery.  [Cassatioun  of  the  charteris  and  taldds  maid  til 
Duncane  Dauidsone  and  Thome  Dauidsone,  his  sone,  A.D.  1534.] 

A.D.  1533.  The  Monastery  of  Monymusk  seems  at  this  time  to  have 
been  in  a  state  of  insubordination,  and  the  Prior  Farlie,  who  was  a  man  of 
decision,  and  strict  in  the  observance  of  his  principles,  together  with  the 
consent  of  the  Monastery,  brought  a  certain  process  before  the  Apostolic  See 
of  Eome,  by  which  the  Canonical  Obedience  due  to  the  Prior  was  more 
distinctly  defined  by  Pope  Adrian  VI.  The  Canons  who  were  called  in  Court 
were  Dene  William  Wilsone,  Andrew  Masoune,  Patrick  Andersoune,  James 
Child,  and  Dene  Alane  Gait,  who  promised  in  all  humility  the  Obedience 
which  was  due  to  their  Superior.  [Instrumentum  super  obedientia  Canoni- 
corum  de  Monimvsk  suo  Priori  requi  sita,  A.D.  1533. — In  Gen.  Eegist., 
Edinburgh ;  Spaldiny  Club :  Antiquities  of  the  Counties  of  Aberdeen  and 
Banff,  vol.  iii.,  p.  4881 . 

A.D.  1535.  This  Monastery,  which  had  been  amply  endowed,  was  by 
no  means  deficient  in  Moral  Discipline,  and  the  recent  Bull  obtained  at 
Eome  strengthened  greatly  the  hands  of  the  Prior  in  the  discharge  of  his 
duties  as  Head  of  the  Convent.  Dene  Allane  Gait,  a  Canon  of  the 
Monastery,  had  published  or  done  something  of  an  offensive  nature  against 
Dene  David  Farlie,  the  Prior.  He  was  called  upon  to  do  Penance,  which  he 
was  unwilling  to  perform.  For  which  reason  the  Prior  charged  him  by 
Writ,  and  commanded  him  under  the  Form  of  Precept,  in  the  virtue  of  the  Holy 


PRICEY  OF  MONYMUSK.  107 

Spirit,  to  obey.  He  charged  Dene  William  Wilsone,  Superior  of  the  Abbey,  to 
pass  to  Dene  Allane  Gait,  Canon  of  the  same,  and  command  him  to  keep  his 
Chamber  in  the  Dormitour,  and  pass  not  forth  from  it  but  of  necessity ;  and 
that  he  shall  be  in  continual  silence  with  all  men,  except  him  that  ministers 
to  his  wants,  and  that  he  shall  be  fed  on  bread  and  water  and  ale.  On 
Wednesdays  and  Fridays  he  was  restricted  to  his  Discipline,  and  no  Bonnet 
was  to  be  seen  on  his  head  during  Penance,  except  his  Night  Bonnet,  until, 
through  his  Penance,  Patience,  and  Humility,  he  had  made  recompense  to 
God  and  Religion,  and  shall  be  deemed  worthy,  in  our  judgment,  to  be 
released  from  Penance.  "  This  we  command  you  to  do,  in  virtue  of 
Spiritual  Obedience,  as  ye  will  answer  to  God,  and  return  this  precept, 
given  and  written  with  our  hand  at  Monymusk,  and  duly  executed  and 
indorsed."  [Instruments  super  Dompno  Allano  Gait,  canonico  de  Moni- 
mvsk. — In  Gen.  Register,  Edinburgh. — Appeal  to  the  Apostolic  See  by  Dene 
Alan  Gait,  Canon  of  Monymusk,  from  the  Sentence  of  Dene  David  Farlie, 
the  Prior,  &c.,  A.D.  1535.] 

A.D.  1542.  John  Forbes,  commonly  called  "  Bousteous  Johnnie" — 
[Lumsden's  Genealogy  of  Forbes,  p.  85]  — at  the  instance  of  David,  the  same 
Prior,  was  charged  before  the  Sheriff  of  Aberdeen  with  occupying  and 
labouring  four  oxengang  of  the  Priory,  and  Convent  Lands  of  Eglismena- 
thok,  and  the  Court  discerned  against  Forbes.  [Antiquities  of  the  Shires  of 
Aberdeen  and  Banff,  vol.  m.] 

7th  April,  1542.  The  Lordship  of  Keig  and  Monymusk,  which  was 
distinct  from  the  Priory  Lands,  was  bestowed  by  Charter  in  Feu  on  George, 
Earl  of  Huntly,  by  David  Beaton,  Cardinal  Archbishop  of  St.  Andrews,  and 
Pope's  Legate.  It  consisted  of  the  Baronies  of  Keig  and  Monymusk,  within 
the  Regality  of  St.  Andrews,  and  County  of  Aberdeen,  and  was  to  be  held 
by  him  and  his  Heirs  in  perpetual  Feu-Farm,  for  a  payment  of  a  Feu-Rent, 
amounting,  with  the  augmentation  of  the  Rental,  to  the  sum  of  £800  Scots 
Money.  [Charter  Dated  at  St.  Andrews,  and  Subscribed  by  the  Archbishop 
David,  Card.  lig.  St.  Andrce,  7  Aprilis,  1542.  N.B. — This  is  a  most 
accurate  and  ample  deed. — Gordon  Castle,  Cartul,  11.3.  1. — See  "  Scottish 
Heroes  in  the  days  of  Wallace  and  Bruce,"  by  Rev.  Alexander  Low,  A.M., 
Minister  of  Keig,  Cor.  Mem.  of  S.A.  Scot.] 

The  Earl  of  Huntly  and  his  Heirs  were  at  the  same  time  constituted 
Heritable  Bailies  of  this  Lordship  of  the  Church,  and  were  bound  to  do  their 
best  endeavour  to  keep  the  Marches  of  Keig  and  Monymusk. 

10.  JOHN  ELPHINSTONE,  Canon  of  Aberdeen,  and  Parson  of  Invernochty, 
was  presented  to  the  Priory  of  Monymusk  in  1542-3,  by  the  Earl  of  Arran. 
[Epistolcc   ReyuHi   Scotia,    vol.    ii.]      He   was  the    son  of  Alexander,  Lord 
Elphinstone,  and  Catherine,  daughter  to  John,  Lord  Ersldn. 

11.  JOHN  HAY  was  sent  as  Envoy  by  Queen  Mary  to  Queen  Elizabeth, 
in  1545. 

12.  ROBERT  (fourth  son  of  William,  Lord  Forbes,  by  Elizabeth,  daughter 
of  Sir  William  Keith,  of  Inverugy),  became  Prior  in  1556.     He  became  a 


108  MONASTICON. 

"  Protestant,"  and  Married  Agnes,  daughter  of  William  Forbes,  of  Corse, 
and  had  several  children,  three  of  whom  were  officers  in  the  army.  [Lums- 
den's  Manuscript  Genealogy  of  Forbes,  p.  34.  Edition  1819.] 

The  Priory  of  Monymusk,  like  all  other  Eoman  Catholic 
Institutions,  was  broken  up,  and  the  Lands  seized,  at  the 
"  Reformation."  Those  of  Monymusk  Parish  probably  fell  into 
the  hands  of  Duncan,  son  of  William  Forbes,  of  Corsinda,  who 
had  been  Infefted  by  the  Canons  in  certain  Lands  on  the  Manor 
or  Mains  of  Monymusk,  in  Feu-Farm  or  Heritage.  [Carta 
magistri  Duncani  Forbes  de  Monymusk  de  manerie  de  Monymusk 
per  Dauidem  Priorem  cum  consensu  sui  coadjutoris,  A.D.  1549. 
— Conformacioun  of  the  Channonis  of  Monimusc,  A.D.  1500,  in  the 
Charter  Chest  of  Monymusk.]  Being  in  possession  of  the  Mains 
of  Monymusk  in  Feu-Farm,  he  had  less  difficulty  in  obtaining 
possession  of  that  part  of  Monymusk  Parish  which  belonged  to 
the  Abbey,  when  these  Church  Prizes  were  agoing ;  and  it  seems 
he  built  the  Manor-House  of  Monymusk  out  of  the  stones  of  the 
Monastery,  and  was  the  Founder  of  the  Family  of  Forbes  of 
Monymusk,  Baronet.  It  appears  that  this  Priory  was  annexed 
by  King  James  VI.,  in  1617,  to  the  Bishopric  of  Dunblane,  when 
that  Bishop  was  appointed  perpetual  Dean  of  the  Chapel  Eoyal. 

Of  these  Church  Lands,  the  proportion  appropriated  to  the 
maintenance  of  this  Priory  seems  to  have  been  very  small,  viz., 
the  Lands  of  Abersnithok,  Eamestone,  Arneedly,  and  Balvack, 
in  the  Parish  of  Monymusk,  together  with  a  croft  sowing  four 
bolls  of  bear,  and  pasture  land  for  six  horses,  and  fifteen  wethers. 
These  lands  of  the  Monastery  belonging  to  Monymusk  were  those 
which  probably  fell  into  the  possession  of  Duncan,  son  of  William 
Forbes,  of  Corsinda,  when  the  Abbey  was  abolished  at  the 
Keformation.  A  Gymnasium  (school)  was  erected  out  of  the 
Buildings  of  the  Priory.  The  Buildings  of  the  Monastery,  when 
deserted,  became  ruinous ;  and  Robert,  the  Commendator,  and, 
by  "Divine  permission,"  Prior,  considering  that  the  Buildings 
were  utterly  decayed,  and  that  all  the  Canons  were  dead,  and 
that  a  Gymnasium  for  the  young  had  been  erected,  bestowed,  by 
Charter,  on  William  Forbes,  of  Monymusk,  the  son  of  Duncan 
Forbes,  the  Feuar  of  the  Manor  Lands,  all  the  ruinous  Houses 


PEIOEY  OF  ISLE  OF  MAY.  109 

of  the  Monastery,  and  a  Croft  of  Land  sowing  four  bolls  of 
bear,  situated  to  the  north-east  of  the  Monastery.  [Chart  our 
of  the  ruinouse  hous  of  Monymusk  be  Kobert  Commendatour. 
"  Eobertus,  Prior  Prioratus  de  Monymusk,"  sine  dato.  In  the 
Charter  Chest  at  Monymusk.]  These  Lands  were  feued  for 
twenty-six  shillings  and  eightpence ;  the  pasture  for  6  horses  and 
15  sheep  for  ten  shillings  Scots  annually;  the  price  of  the 
Buildings  and  Gardens  amounted  to  thirty  shillings  Scots. 
[Chartour  of  the  ruinouse  hous  of  Monymusk  be  Kobert  Com- 
mendatour, sine  dato.]  The  Priory  had  three  Gardens, — pro- 
bably an  Orchard,  Parterre,  and  Kitchen  Garden. 

That  part  of  the  Lordship  of  Keig  and  Monymusk  which  is 
situated  in  the  Parish  of  Keig,  afterwards  came  into  the  hands  of 
Lord  Forbes ;  and  the  greater  part  of  it  is  at  this  day  possessed 
by  this  Family.  Thus  these  Lands  were  alienated  from  the  Church 
462  years  after  they  had  been  bestowed  upon  the  Culdees  by  King 
Malcolm  III.,  and  the  Priory  suppressed  at  the  Keformation. 

About  20  yards  north-east  of  the  (Parish)  Church,  is  to  be 
discerned  only  the  place  of  the  Priory, — the  very  Foundation  of 
which  was  entirely  dug  up  about  the  year  1726,  notwithstanding 
the  remonstrances  of  the  Keverend  Mr.  John  Burnet,  the  last 
Episcopal  Pastor  of  this  Parish,  to  the  contrary.  It  has  been  a 
large  Building,  and  situated  in  a  fruitful  soil.  It  was  Dedicated 
to  the  Blessed  Virgin.  Jam  seges  ubi  Trojafuit.  [Description  of 
the  Parish  of  Monymusk,  in  Ruddimaris  Edinburgh  Magazine  for 
1760,  p.  367.]  (See  an  excellent  Paper  on  Keig  and  Mony- 
musk, by  Eev.  Alex.  Low,  read  before  the  Society  of  Antiquaries, 
Edinburgh.) 

VALUATION    OF   THE    PEIOEY   OF   MONYMUSK — £400. 

VIII.  ISLE  OF  MAY,     A.D.  870, 

In  the  Shire  of  Fife,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Frith  of  Forth, 
belonged  of  old  to  the  Monks  of  Eeading,  in  Yorkshire ;  for  whom 
King  David  I.  founded  here  a  Cell  or  Monastery,  and  Dedicated 
the  place  to  All  the  Saints.  Afterwards,  it  was  Consecrated  to 
the  memory  of  S.  Hadrian.  It  is  called  by  several  "  The  Priory 


110  MONASTICON. 

of  S.  Ethernau,"  or  S.  Colnian.  William  Lamberton  [not 
Lamberton  (as  Spottiswoode  says),  nor  Frazer  (as  Martine  says), 
but  WISHART],  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  purchased  it  from  the 
Abbot  of  Heading  ;  and,  notwithstanding  the  complaints  made 
thereupon  by  Edward  (Langshanks),  King  of  England,  bestowed 
it  upon  the  Canon-Regulars  of  his  Cathedral,  which  Story  is  to 
be  seen  in  Prynnc,  vol.  •///.,  p.  554.  It  was  of  old  much 
frequented  by  barren  women,  who  went  thither  in  pilgrimage, 
and  "were  always  cured  by  a  Recipe  possessed  by  the  lusty 
Friars.'"  Some  of  the  wives  thought  that  the  Air  did  it. 

This  Island,  in  the  mouth  of  the  Frith  of  Forth,  is  about  a 
mile  long,  three-quarters  of  a  mile  broad,  and  about  three 
miles  in  circumference.  The  west  or  Edinburgh  side  shows 
bold  basaltic  cliffs,  150  feet  high,  and  is  whitened  with  the 
deposits  of  the  sea-gulls  and  kittywaiks,  which  constantly  flock 
and  hover  at  this  part.  It  slopes  towards  the  east  or  Crail  side, 
the  usual  landing-place.  On  driving  along  the  highway  from 
Anstruther  to  Crail,  The  May  presents  variable  shapes  and  aspects. 
Geologists  have  speculated  that  some  volcanic  rupture  severed  it 
and  the  Bass  Eock.  It  is  a  fine  sight  to  see  some  400  fishing- 
boats  on  their  way  to  the  Island,  while  th§  sun,  on  an  afternoon 
in  June  or  July,  irradiates  the  whole  of  the  Berwick  side  of  the 
Frith. 

The  earliest  notice  we  have  of  this  Priory  is  in  Wyntouris 
Chronicle,  B.  vi.,  C.  viii.  :— 

This  Constantyne  than  regnand  65 

Oure  ye  Scottis  in  Scotland, 
Saynt  Adriane  wyth  hys  Cumpany 
Come  of  ye  Land  of  Hyrkany,  [Orkney] 

And  arrywd  in-to  Fyfe, 

Quhar  that  thai  chesyd  to  led  thar  lyf.  70 

At  ye  Kyng  than  askyd  thai 

Leve  to  preche  ye  Crystyn  Fay ;      [Christian  Faith] 
Dai  he  grantyd  wyth  gud  will, 
And  thaire  Lyscyng  to  fullfille, 

And  Leif  to  duell  in-to  his  Land,  75 

Quhare  thai  couth  dies  it  mayst  plesand. 
Dan  Adriane  wyth  hys  Cumpany 
To-gydder  come  to  Caplawchy.  [Caiplie] 

Dare  sum  in-to  ye  He  of  May 
Chesyd  to  byde  to  thare  Euday ;         [Day  of  ending]      80 


PKIOBY  OF  ISLE  OF  MAY.  Ill 

And  sum  of  tliame  cliesyd  be-northe, 

In  steddis  sere  ye  Waiter  of  Forth. 

At  Invery,  Saynct  Monane, 

Dat  of  that  Cumpany  wes  ane, 

Chesyd  hym  sa  nere  ye  Se  85 

Til  lede  hys  lyf :  thare  endyt  he. 

Hiob,  Haldane,  and  Hyngare, 
Off  Denmark,  this  tyme  cumyn  ware, 
In  Scotland  wyth  gret  multitude, 

And  wyth  thare  Powere  it  oure-yhude.      [went  over]      90  • 
In  Hethynnes,  all  lyvyd  thai ; 
And  in  dispyte  of  Chrystyn  Fay, 
In-to  ye  Land  thai  slwe  mony, 
And  put  to  Dede  by  Martyr. 

And  a-pon  haly  Thurysday,  95 

Saynt  Adriane  thai  slwe  in  May, 
Wyth  mony  of  hys  Cumpany  : 
In-to  that  haly  He  thai  ly. 

The  Gaelic  name  Magh,  or  Mai,  signifies  "  level,"  which  The  May 
is  not, — so  it  is  most  probably  derived  from  a  Gothic  word  meaning 


ISLE   OF   MAY,    FROM   THE   FIFE  SIDE. 


"rich  in  pasture,"  May  mutton  being  famous,  and  May  daisies 
greatly  in  vogue  with  excursionists  for  Garden  borders.  Boethius, 
lib.  x.,  says  : — There  were  at  that  time  [A.D.  870,  in  the  Keign  of 
Constantine  II.,  son  of  Kenneth  I.],  in  those  parts  of  Fife,  a 
number  of  Eeligious  men  who  went  about  Preaching  the  Christian 
Faith.  Many  of  them  were  Killed  by  the  Danes,  though  a  few 


112  "MONASTICON. 

escaped,  by  lurking  among  the  caverns.  But  the  greater  part, 
with  Adrian,  who  was  then  the  Chief  Bishop  of  the  Scots 
(Scotorum  Maximus  Episcopus),  that  they  might  avoid  this 
Persecution,  fled  for  refuge  to  the  Isle  of  May,  where  there  was  a 
famous  Monastery ;  but  neither  the  sanctity  of  the  place,  nor  the 
innocence  of  the  men,  could  restrain  the  fury  of  the  Danes,  who 
Burnt  the  Monastery,  and  cruelly  Slaughtered  its  holy  Inmates. 
This  is  that  noble  Band  of  Martyrs,  which  many  persons  in  our 
times,  both  in  England  and  Scotland,  so  highly  venerate  :  so 
that  the  Isle  of  May  has  thereby  been  rendered  illustrious,  both 
by  the  number  of  Pilgrims  who  resort  thither,  and  by  the 
Miracles  which  the  goodness  of  God  has  superadded.  There 
have  come  down  to  us  only  these  few  names  of  this  great  body  of 
Christians  : — Adrianus,  the  venerable  Bishop ;  Gladianus,  or,  as 
some  call  him,  Gaius ;  Monamus  [S.  Monan],  Archdeacon  of  St. 
Andrews ;  and  Stolbrandus,  a  Bishop.  The  rest  of  their  names, 
I  know  not  why,  have  not  been  preserved.  The  Breviary  of 
Aberdeen  says  that  the  above  Slaughter  took  place  A.D.  874,  and 
that  6000  persons  were  put  to  death.  Thousands  must  have 
been,  by  mistake,  put  for  Hundreds.  The  latter  seems  excessive 
and  incredible,  time  and  place  considered.  Even  suppose  tivo 
nothings  were  lopped  off,  the  remaining  60  are  10  more  than 
King  Herod  Killed  of  the  Holy  Innocents  in  Bethlehem.  Pro- 
bably, S.  Adrian  and  his  Religious  would  defend  themselves,  and 
slay  some  of  the  Danes,  whom  the  Aberdeen  Breviary  does  not 
include ;  but  we  cannot  fancy  6000  Religious  persons  living  and 
dying  on  The  May  at  that  time  of  Day.  How,  unless  by  Miracle, 
could  they  have  been  housed,  fed,  and  clad  ?  "  The  He  of  May 
decorit  with  the  blude  and  martirdome  of  Sanct  Adriane  and  his 
fallowis."  [Bellenden.]  About  200  years  after  this,  David  I. 
re-established  a  Religious  House  here,  and  Gifted  it  to  the  Abbey 
of  Reading,  then  recently  Founded  by  his  brother-in-law,  Henry 
I.  It  continued  in  the  possession  of  this  English  Abbey  for 
more  than  100  years,  when  King  Alexander  III.,  dreading  that 
its  situation  might  enable  the  English  to  spy  out  the  defenceless 
parts  of  the  Kingdom,  took  steps  for  its  re-purchase,  which  was 
effected  by  William  Wishart,  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  and 


PKIOKY  OF  ISLE  OF  MAY.  113 

annexed  to  the  Priory  of  Pittenweem.  During  the  Century 
which  succeeded  its  Foundation,  the  House  of  May  was  en- 
riched by  many  Gifts  from  the  Kings  of  Scotland  and  the  Earls 
of  Dunbar,  besides  other  Landowners  on  both  sides  of  the 
Frith  of  Forth.  From  the  Earls  of  Dunbar,  the  Monks  got  the 
use  of  a  ship  for  conveying  their  necessaries  from  the  Coast. 

Gospatrick,  the  Earl  of  Dunbar  [from  1147  to  1166], 
Granted  to  the  Monks  of  May,  for  their  accommodation  in  com- 
merce, a  full  toft,  near  his  port  of  Bele,  free  of  all  custom. 
[Chart.,  May  26.]  This  toft  appears  to  have  been  assigned  them 
at  Dunbar,  where  they  built  a  House.  About  1168,  William  the 
Lion  Confirmed  to  the  Monks  of  May,  "  unam  mansuram,  cum 
tofto,  in  Dunbar,  et  applicationem  unius  navis  ad  necessaria 
domus  sui  transportanda,  sicut  comes  Gospatricius  eis  dedit,  et 
rex  Malcolmus  frater  meus  eis  carta  sua  confirmavit."  They  had 
extensive  rights  of  pasturage  in  the  Lammermoors,  which  in- 
cluded a  Stud  of  Brood  Mares ;  and,  on  the  opposite  Fife  Coast, 
they  had  Grants  of  Lands  and  Privileges,  including  Pittenweem 
and  Inverey. 

At  the  time  when  Camerarius,  or  Cameron,  wrote,  there  was 
standing  on  this  Island  an  extensive  Monastery  of  hewn  stone, 
and  a  Church,  to  which  the  Faithful  repaired ;  and  several  names 
on  the  Island  preserve  the  memory  of  its  former  inhabitants, 
such  as  Altarstanes,  Pilgrimshaven,  Kirchenhaven,  where  a  little 
hamlet  is  said  to  have  been  planted.  At  one  time,  some  30 
fishers,  with  their  families,  dwelt  here,  and  followed  their  calling. 

The  Minister  of  Anstruther  Wester  claims  The  May  as  in  his 
Parish,  and  was  wont  to  sail  once  a  year  to  "  preach  deliverance 
to  the  captives  ;"  while,  at  the  same  time,  a  Collection  (averaging 
one  shilling)  was  made  for  the  "  Poor  of  the  Parish,"  according 
to  the  Entries  in  the  "  Visiting  Book." 

Several  Charters  relating  to  a  Cell  of  the  House  of  May 
at  Kindelgros,  in  the  Parish  of  Ehynd,  Perthshire,  the  memory 
of  which  has  been  entirely  lost,  together  with  Notices  of  the 
fortunes  of  this  Ecclesiastical  Ketreat,  especially  in  the  Six- 
teenth Century,  and  of  the  subsequent  adaptation  of  the 
Buildings  to  domestic  uses,  were  discussed  last  year  before  the 

VOL.  I.  P 


114  MONASTICON. 

Society  of  Antiquaries,  Edinburgh,  by  John  Stuart,  Esq.,  of  the 
General  Register  House.  He  has  also  recently  called  the  attention 
of  the  Lord  Provost  of  Edinburgh,  to  enlist  the  sympathy  of  the 
public  to  restore  and  preserve  the  interesting  Chapel  (of  which  a 
Woodcut  is  here  given  for  the  first  time),  now  in  a  state  of  great 
dilapidation.  The  Commissioners  of  Northern  Lighthouses,  to 
whom  The,  May  belongs,  did  not  consider  themselves  at  liberty 
to  expend,  even  on  their  own  property,  so  much  as  a  £1  Note, 
from  their  abundant  Light  funds,  on  a  Church  of  unknown 
antiquity,  whence  the  Faith  brightly  sparkled  out  in  a  Dark  Age  ! 


s.  ETHERNAN'S  CHAPEL,  ISLE  OF  MAY,  EAST  SIDE. 
(The  Remains  ofS.  Adrian's  Coffin  lie  within,  at  the  east  Gable  Window.) 

I  have  discussed  in  Scotichronicon,  vol.  i.,  p.  Ill,  the  myth 
about  the  Stone  Coffin,  half  of  which  floated  into  the  Churchyard 
of  West  Anstruther,  while  the  other  half  remains  within  this 
little  Chapel,  which  is  said  to  have  contained  S.  Adrian's 
corpse.  Whether  S.  Adrian  or  any  other  of  the  early  Martyrs  can 
claim  this  Coffin  or  not,  it  ought  to  be  better  cared  for  than  it  now 
unfortunately  is.  Antiquaries,  perhaps,  may  soon  be  able  to 
ascertain  whether  the  6000  (?)  whom  the  Danes  Murdered,  were 
Buried  here,  or  at  the  Place  higher  up  on  the  Island  now  called 
the  Churchyard)  or  Rabbit-warren^  noticed  below. 

From  1166-1213,  the  Prior  was  Hugo  de  Mortuo  Man 
[of  the  Dead  Sea— Mortimer] ;  and  King  William  the  Lion  Con- 
firms to  him  all  the  Donations  of  his  Grandfather  David,  and  his 
Brother  Malcolm.  He  Witnesses  a  Charter  from  King  William 


PRIORY. OF  ISLE  OF  MAY.  115 

about  the  Election  of  an  Abbot  to  Scone  :  Dated  at  Forfar,  29th 
May.  [Liber  de  Scon,  p.  22.]  In  1340,  Dominus  Martinus  is 
Prior  of  The  May,  as  appears  from  an  Instrument  between  Martin, 
Prior  of  May,  and  the  Abbot  of  Scone,  before  William,  Perpetual 
Vicar  of  the  Church  of  Largo,  in  the  Keign  of  King  David  II. 
[Liber  de  Scon,  p.  108.]  "  In  pensionis  yeirlie  to  the  Abbot  of 
May,  IxxixZ/.  ixs.  viijd.  [Liber  de  Scon,  App.] 

At  the  first  Parliament  of  Baliol,  William,  Abbot  of  Eeading, 
petitions  for  the  restoration  of  the  Priory  on  The  May,  which  had 
been  alienated  by  Robert  de  Burghgate,  late  Abbot  of  the 
Monastery  of  Eeading,  and  Predecessor  of  the  present  Abbot, 
without  the  consent  of  the  greater  or  wiser  part  of  his  Monastery, 
in  favour  of  Bishop  William  Wishart.  This  Citation  Dates  1293. 
The  following  is  a  Copy  of  it : — 

The  King  and  Lord  Superior  of  the  Kingdom  of  Scotland,  to  his 
beloved  and  faithful  son  John,  the  illustrious  King  of  Scotland,  saluteni. 
We  have  learnt  from  our  brothers,  Allan  de  Eston  and  Hugo  de  Stoennford, 
Procurators  of  the  Eeligious  Abbot  and  Convent  of  Eeading,  which  was 
Founded  by  the  charity  of  our  Predecessors,  the  Kings  of  England,  that 
David,  King  of  Scotland,  of  good  memory,  your  Predecessor,  invested  the 
said  Abbey,  and  the  Monks  there  serving  God,  and  their  Successors,  with 
the  Priory  of  the  Isle  of  May,  in  the  Diocese  of  St.  Andrews,  in  your  King- 
dom of  Scotland,  in  pure  and  perpetual  charity,  on  condition  that  the  said 
Monks  and  their  Successors  should  cause  Obits  to  be  performed  by  their 
Brother  Priests  for  the  soul  of  the  said  King  David,  and  those  of  his 
Predecessors  and  Successors ;  and  that  these  Monks  have  always  quietly 
held  the  said  Priory  and  its  Pertinents,  in  virtue  of  the  above  investment, 
till  a  certain  Eobert  de  Burghgate,  late  Abbot  of  the  Monastery  of  Eeading, 
and  Predecessor  of  the  present  Abbot,  alienated  the  said  Priory,  without  the 
consent  of  the  greater  or  wiser  part  of  his  Monastery,  in  favour  of  the 
venerable  William  [Wishart] ,  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  to  our  prejudice  and 
that  of  our  Kingdom  ;  and  that  the  aforesaid  Procurators  applied  to  you,  and 
urged  you  many  times  that  you  would  be  pleased  to  hear  them,  and  to  do 
justice  to  the  Petition  which  they  made  to  you  concerning  the  said  Priory, 
offering  to  prove  their  allegations  in  due  form  before  you ;  yet,  putting  them 
off  on  the  feigned  pretext  of  an  appeal  from  your  authority  by  the  said 
Bishop  of  St.  Andrews  to  the  Apostolic  See,  you  refused  to  proceed  farther 
in  this  business,  and  denied  justice  to  the  said  Procurators ;  on  which 
account  they,  in  the  name  of  the  said  Eeligious  Abbot  and  Convent,  have 
appealed  to  us,  as  to  the  Lord  Superior  of  Scotland,  entreating  us  to  do 
them  justice  in  the  premises.  Seeing,  therefore,  it  is  our  duty  to  do  justice 


116  MONASTICON. 

to  all  who  seek  it  at  our  hands,  We  require  that  you  appear  before  us, 
fifteen  days  after  the  next  Feast  of  S.  Martin,  in  whatever  part  of  England 
we  may  then  be,  to  answer  to  the  Complaint  and  Petition  of  the  said  Abbot 
and  Convent ;  on  which  day  we  have  also  summoned  the  same  persons,  in 
order  that  equal  justice  may  be  done  to-  both  parties,  as  circumstances 
shall  be  found  to  require.  In  testimony  of  which,  &c.  At  Dantou,  2nd 
September. 

What  compensation  Bishop  Wishart  gave  for  the  Priory  of 
the  Isle  of  May,  is  not  stated  ;  but  it  appears  from  No.  II.  of  the 
"  Denmylne  Papers,"  that  it  paid  sixteen  marks  annually  to  its 
parent  Monastery  of  Eeading,  which  payment  was  afterwards 
transferred  to  the  Priory  of  St.  Andrews. 

In  the  Advocates'  Library,  Edinburgh,  there  is  the  Original 
Bull  of  Pope  Innocent  III.,  A.D.  1215,  empowering  the  Abbots  of 
Arbroath  and  Lindores,  and  the  Prior  of  May,  to  finish  a  Con- 
troversy which  had  arisen  between  the  Prior  and  Convent  of  St. 
Andrews  and  the  Bishop,  concerning  the  Church  of  Kossinclerach. 
William  the  Lion  Granted  to  the  Monastery  on  this  Isle  a  tenth 
of. all  the  fish  caught  in  its  neighbourhood,  which  must  have 
proved  the  source  of  considerable  revenue,  since  we  are  informed 
in  a  Life  of  S.  Kentigern,  or  S.  Mungo,  written  about  the  latter 
end  of  David  I.'s  Reign,  that  fishermen  from  England  and 
Holland  visited  this  important  fishing  station,  which  is  said  at 
that  period  to  have  greatly  abounded  in  this  article  of  consumpt. 
"Ab  illo  quippe  tempore  in  hunc  diem,  tanta  piscium  fertilitas 
ibi  abundat,  ut  de  omni  littore,  maris  Anglici,  Scotici,  et  a 
Belgicae  Gallicse  littoribus  veniunt  gratia  piscandi  piscatores 
plurimi  quos  omnes  Insula  MAY  in  suis  rite  suscipit  portibus." 
[MS.  Bib.  Cott.  Tit.  A,  xix.,  f.  78,6.]  Several  Charters  are 
addressed  to  these,  enjoining  them  to  pay  their  Tithes  and  Dues 
to  the  Monks. 

Mary,  daughter  of  the  Duke  Guieldeiiand,  the  Bride  of  James 
II.,  in  her  voyage  to  Scotland,  coasting,  not  without  terror, 
along  the  inimical  English  shore,  on  the  sixth  day  Scotland 
arose  to  their  eager  eyes,  and  they  anchored  near  the  Isle  of 
May,  where  there  stood  a  Hermitage  and  a  Chapel  sacred  to  S. 
Andrew  [S.  Adrian?].  Having  paid  her  devotions,  the  Queen 


PRIORY  OF  ISLE  OF  MAY.  117 

proceeded  to  Leith,  where  she  was  met  by  many  Nobles,  &c. 
[Pinfarton,  vol.  L,  p.  208.] 

Spottiswoode  says, — "  King  David  I.  Founded  here  a  Cell  or 
Monastery,  and  Dedicated  the  place  to  All  the  Saints.  After- 
wards, it  was  Consecrated  to  the  memory  of  S.  Hadrian." 

In  Abbot  Myln's  Lives  of  the  Bishops  of  Dunkeld,  "Father 
Lawrence,  Prior  of  the  Isle  of  May,  son  of  Lord  Oliphant,  whose 
nephew  Andrew  Herring  was,"  is  alluded  to  as  an  Arbiter  in  a 
Dispute  about  certain  Lands. 

In  the  time  of  James  IV.,  Andrew  Wood,  of  Largo,  got  a 
Charter  of  certain  Lands,  on  condition  that  he  should  be  ready 
to  pilot  and  convey  the  King  and  Queen  to  visit  S.  Adrian's 
Chapel.  In  the  Treasurer's  Accounts  for  1506,  the  King  gave 
an  Alms  to  a  Hermit  resident  on  the  Island. 


EEGISTER    OF    THE    PRIORY    OF    ST.    ANDREWS. 
PAGE 

379  Patrick,  Earl  of  Dunbar,  gives  "  to  God,  and  the  Saints  of  May, 
and  the  Monks  there  serving  God,"  a  piece  of  Land,  the  boundaries  of 
which  are  described.     Bishop  Wishart  is  the  first  Witness. 

380  The  same  Earl  gives  to  the  same  Monks,  a  cow  yearly,  which  he 
and  his  ancestors  had   always  received  from  Lambermoor.     Bishop 
Wishart  is  the  first  Witness. 

John,  son  of  Michael,  gives  them  a  piece  of  Land  in  Lambermoor. 

381  The  same  John  gives  them  another  piece  of  Land.     Robert  de 
Londer,  son  of  King  William,  is  the  first  Witness. 

382  William  de  Beaueyr  gives  them  a  piece  of  Land  from  his  Estate  of 
Arderie  ;  also,  his  wife's  dower,  and  a  servant's  portion,  at  their  Death. 

Egou  Ruffus  gives  them  a  piece  of  Land  at  Lingo. 

883  Alexander  Comyn,  Earl  of  Buchan,  and  Justiciary  of  Scotland, 
gives  them,  for  lighting  the  Altar  of  S.  Etherinus,  a  stone  of  wax,  or 
forty  denarii,  annually,  at  the  market  price  of  St.  Andrews. 

884  Agreement  between  John  of  Dundemor  and  the  Monks  of  May. 
The  former  gives  them  the  Land  of  Turbrec,  in  Fife.     In  return,  they 
give  him  a  half  silver  mark,  or  sixty  malevellos,  yearly ;  they  furnish  a 
Glass  Lamp  in  the  Church  of  Ceres,  and  two  gallons  of  oil,  or  twelve 
denarii  yearly,  for  ever ;  and  they  employ  a  Monk  to  say  Masses  for 
him,  his  ancestors,  and  his  heirs,  A.D.  1260. 

385  John  of  Dundemor  makes  over  to  them  the  Land  of  Turbrec. 

386  Dispute  between  Henry  de  Dundemor  and  the  same  Monks.     He 
claims  homage   from  them  for  the  Land  of  Turbrec,  and,  on  their 
refusal,   seizes   one   of    their  horses.      W.    [Eraser],    Bishop   of  St. 


118  MONASTICON. 

REGISTER    OF    THE    PRIORY    OF    ST.  ANDREWS    (continued ). 

J    Andrews,   being   appealed  to,  decides   in  favour  of  the   Monks,  A.D. 

1285. 

387  Dispute  between  one  Thomas  and  the  same  Monks,  concerning 
some  property  in  Berwick.  This  is  settled  by  the  Abbots  of  Scone  and 
Lindores,  and  the  Archdeacon  of  St.  Andrews,  by  command  of  the 
Pope. 

387  A  similar  Dispute  betwe.eu  the  same  Monks,  and  those  of  Beading, 
in  Yorkshire,  011  the  one  side,  and  one  Simon  of  Berwick  on  the  other, 
which  is  settled  by  the  same  persons. 

388  Gilbert  de  Barewe  gives  the  same  Monks  a  piece  of  Land  in  Barewe, 
near  the  Hill  called  Whitelaw. 

889  Prior  John  and  the  Monks  of  May  give  to  Eadner,  Chaplain  of 

Crail,  the  above  Land  of  Barewe,  for  four  solidi  yearly. 

390  William  de  Mortuomari  [Mortimer] ,  Official  of  the  Bishop  of  St. 
Andrews,  settles  a  Dispute  between  the  Monks  of  May  and  one  Patrick, 
Chaplain  of  Dunbar,  respecting  a  toft  in  Dunbar,  A.D.  1212. 

391  The  Abbot  and  Prior  of  Lindores  are  Commissioned  by  Pope  Alex- 
ander IV.  to  settle  a  Dispute  between  the  Monks  of  Beading  (to  whom 
the  Priory  of  May  then  belonged),  and  a  Burgess  of  Berwick,  regarding 
a  property  in  that  town,  which  Dispute  they  settled  accordingly,  A.D. 
1261. 

892  The  Abbot  and  Monastery  of  Dunfermline  give  the  Monks  of  May 
the  Tithes  of  Balgallin. 

893  A  Composition,  whereby  the  Monks  of  May  are  allowed  to  fish  at 
Inchefreth  (Inchyra),  on  the  Biver  Tay. 

The  Monks  of  May,  who  had  the  Parish  of  Bind,  on  the  Biver  Tay, 
complain  that  the  Monks  of  Scone  took  the  Tithe  of  Fish  within  the 
limits  of  their  Parish,  on  some  pretended  right.  Pope  Gregory  [IX.] 
commands  Henry,  Prior  of  St.  Andrews ;  L.,  Archdeacon  of  the  same  ; 
and  B.,  Dean  of  Fife,  to  inquire  into  the  above  Complaint.  They 
decide  that  the  Monks  of  Scone,  on  paying  to  those  of  May  two  silver 
marks  annually,  shall  be  allowed  to  retain  their  right  to  the  Tithe  of 
Fish,  A.D.  1231. 

395  Pope  Honorius  [III.]  commands  the  Abbot  and  Prior  of  Melrose, 
and  the  Dean  of  Teviotdale,  to  inquire  into  a  Complaint  made  by  the 
Monks  of  Dryburgh,  Proprietors  of  the  Tithes  of  Kilrenny,  against  the 
Monks  of  May,  Proprietors  of  the  Tithes  of  Anstruther.  The  former 
complained  that,  when  the  latter's  boats  (naves  et  navicellaa  piscaria?) 
went  to  fish  in  the  Biver  which  divided  the  two  Parishes,  they  ap- 
proached too  near  the  Kilrenny  side,  and  thus  robbed  them  of  their 
Tithe  of  Fish.  A  Composition  is  made,  whereby  the  Anstruther  boats 
might  fish  in  any  part  of  the  Biver,  on  paying  a  half  silver  mark  yearly 
to  Dryburgh,  A.D.  1225. 


PKIOKY  OF  ISLE  OF  MAY.  119 

REGISTER   OF    THE    PRIORY    OF    ST.  ANDREWS    (continued). 
PAGE 

N.B. — What  is  now  the  Parish  of  Anstruther  Easter,  was  at  this 
period  part  of  Kilrenny  Parish,  and  consequently  the  "River"  here 
spoken  of,  is  just  "  The  Dreel  Burn,"  which  divides  it  from  Anstruther 
Wester;  and  which  "  River"  is  such  a  mighty  Amazon  that  it  is 
now  capable  of  floating  a  Covey  of  Ducks — the  only  Fishers  to  be 
seen  at  the  present  day  looking  after  the  Tithes  in  the  Dreel,  for 
behoof  of  the  Monks  of  May.  If  by  "  Fish,"  Salmon  is  meant  in  the 
Cartulary  of  Dryburgh,  the  Arms  of  the  Burgh  of  West  Anster 
(1554-1587)  being  three  Salmon  proper,  with  a  fourth  stationed  as  a 
Weather  Cock  on  the  Kirk  Steeple,  would  indicate  that  a  Salmon 
Fishing  was,  of  old,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Dreel.  On  the  north  side  of 
the  Dreel,  down  from  the  present  National  Bank,  stood  the  Castle  of 
Dreel,  the  original  Residence  of  the  Anstruthers  of  that  Ilk,  descended 
from  "  William  of  the  Candle"  (mentioned  in  Charters),  who  held  the 
Lands  of  Anstruther  in  the  Reign  of  David  I. 

89G  The  Prior  and  Monks  of  May  agree  with  Malcolm  (Pincerna  to  the 
King),  that  on  every  Sunday  and  the  chief  Holydays,  Divine  Service  be 
performed  in  the  Chapel  of  Ricardston,  but  that  the  women  shall  be 
Churched,  Confession  made,  and  the  Communion  administered,  at  the 
•  Parish  Church  of  Rindalgross.  Malcolm  and  his  family  may  Com- 
municate in  either  the  Chapel  or  the  Church. 

The  Isle  of  May  was,  in  1549,  granted  to  Patrick  Lear- 
month,  of  Dairsie,  Provost  of  St.  Andrews,  because  (as  the 
Charter  bears)  it  was  from  its  situation  so  liable  to  be  spoiled  by 
hostile  fleets,  that  it  had  been  hitherto  a  barren  and  unprofitable 
possession.  In  1551,  it  was  acquired  by  Andrew  Balfour,  of 
Mountquhanie,  and,  in  1558,  John  Forret  receives  a  Charter. 
It  then  seems  to  have  passed  to  Allan  Lamond,  who  sold  it  to 
Cunningham,  of  Barns.  Alexander  Cunningham,  of  Barns, 
appears  to  have  been  the  first  who  built  a  Lighthouse  (of  coals) 
on  The  ILay,  in  1635.  His  son,  John  Cunningham,  was,  in 
1647,  empowered,  along  with  James  Maxwell,  of  Innerwick,  to 
levy  dues  for  the  maintenance  of  the  light,  to  the  amount  of  4s  a 
ton  on  Foreigners,  and  2s  on  Scotch  vessels — Scots  Money. 
Liberty  was  also  given  him  to  build  a  Lighthouse,  and  accord- 
ingly he  erected  a  Tower  40  feet  high,  vaulted  at  the  top,  and 
covered  with  flag-stones.  It  was  on  this  plea,  coupled  with  the 
Boat  plying  between  The  May  and  Crail  with  supplies  of 
necessaries  for  the  Light  Keepers,  that  Crail,  as  being  the 


120  MONASTICON. 

nearest  port,  claimed  the  Isle  of  May  as  within  its  Parochial 
boundaries.  But  the  claim  has  been  relinquished  in  favour  of 
Anstruther  Wester,  so  when  a  Birth,  Marriage,  or  Death,  &c., 
occurs,  as  a  remarkable  event,  the  Dwellers  on  The  May  under- 
stand where  to  apply  for  the  services  of  the  Midwife,  the  Doctor, 
the  Minister,  or  the  Dominie.  The  unfortunate  architect  of  this 
dumpy  square  Tower  was  drowned  on  his  return  from  The  May, 
in  a  Storm  then  imagined  to  have  been  raised  by  the  Pittemveem 
Witches,  who  were  Burned  therefor  !  This  Tower  seems  to  have 
been  erected,  at  least  in  part,  originally  in  1636,  which  Date  was 
over  the  door,  on  a  Tablet,  when  I  visited  the  Island  in  June, 
1865.  It  is  about  50  or  60  feet  high,  and  is  used  as  a  Look- 
out for  Smugglers  by  some  half-dozen  Marines,  who  are  stationed 
here  from  the  Preventive  House  at  Leith.  Their  greatest  punish- 
ment is  that  they  have  nothing  to  do — a  capital  temptation  for  the 
"  One  of  the  olden  time."  This  Home  is  dismal  reeky,  but  often 
whitewashed,  outside  and  inside,  and  is  filled  up  with  a  sloping 
wood-bench  for  the  men  to  recline  upon,  ruminate,  snooze,  and 
smoke  tobacco.  They  are  rather  chatty,  and  come  to  the  door 
with  their  Spy-glass,  to  enlarge  the  prospect,  for  the  delight 
of  any  visitor  who  vouchsafes  to  them  a  quid  of  Virginian  Negro- 
head  to  encourage  the  ascent  of  their  contemplations,  A  ton  of 
coals  was  consumed  every  night ;  and  the  fire  was  lighted  by  live 
coals  placed  above,  on  a  large  square  grate.  There  were  three 
attendants,  two  of  whom  were  on  the  watch  every  night.  The 
fire  required  mending  every  half  hour,  and  in  tempestuous  nights 
the  Keepers  were  in  great  peril.  In  1661,  Sir  James  Halket, 
of  Pitferran,  and  Sir  David  Carmichael,  of  Balmadie,  were 
authorised  by  Act  of  Parliament  to  levy  dues  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  light,  to  the  amount  of  3s  a  ton  for  Foreigners,  and  Is  Qd 
for  Natives.  These  sums  are  in  Scots  Money,  as  above,  and  are 
equal  to  3d  and  IJd  Sterling.  Before  1790,  this  Duty  was  let 
at  .£280  Sterling  per  annum;  at  that  time,  it  rose  to  £960 ;  and, 
in  1800,  it  was  let  at  £1500.  These  Kents  are  exclusive  of  the 
cost  of  keeping  the  light,  &c.  In  1791,  George  Anderson  (the 
Keeper),  his  wife,  and  five  children,  were  found  suffocated  from 
the  sulphur  in  the  coals.  One  suckling  at  the  breast  was  saved, 


PRIORY  OF  ISLE  OF  MAY.  121 

who  was  educated  at  the  Parish  School  of  Grail,  and  became  "a 
joyful  mother  of  children" — the  native  Hay  Air,  as  noticed 
above,  being  irresistible  for  the  procreation  of  species.  The 
Commissioners  of  Northern  Lights  having  bought  the  Island  for 
£60,000,  from  the  Duchess  of  Portland,  daughter  of  General 
Scott,  of  Balcomie,  erected,  in  1816,  a  House  and  Tower,  240 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  having  a  system  of  oil  lamps  and 
reflectors.  But,  in  1843,  this  fixed  Catoptric  light  was  exchanged 
for  the  Dioptric  system,  having  but  one  very  powerful  Argand 
lamp,  with  first-class  holophotal  revolving  apparatus.  [Wood's 
East  Neuk  of  Fife.} 

Not  a  bush  nor  tree  will  grow  on  The  May.  Any  ground 
which  is  cultivated  is  dyked  in  for  shelter.  A  one-horse  plough 
accomplishes  all  the  husbandry,  which  the  Lighthouse  Keeper 
has  as  a  perquisite.  The  Offices  and  Stabling  are  situated  in  a 
sheltered  hollow,  and  look  like  a  little  Castle.  The  Cocks  and 
Hens  of  the  various  Tribes  of  Poultry  cohabitant  here,  and 
are  well-bred ;  and  seemed  unusually  felicitous  on  the  fine 
morning  I  landed  for  the  first  time.  In  the  several  Accounts  of 
the  Island,  it  is  stated  that  there  is  a  "  Well  of  fine  Water."  At 
the  upper  or  chief  Lighthouse  (an  imposing  Gothic  Building 
resembling  a  Mansion),  there  is  a  fine  Pump,  but  the  Water  is 
so  brackish,  that  a  regular  supply  has  to  be  fetched  inter  alia 
by  the  Commissioners'  boat  from  Crail  every  fortnight.  There 
is  a  small  fresh  water  Loch  (not  fine  either)  to  the  west,  between 
two  ravines,  and  a  spacious,  deep  natural  Harbour  at  the  east  or 
Crail  side,  the  usual  place  of  landing,  as  above  stated,  from 
which  there  is  a  considerable  acclivity.  S.  Ethernan's  Chapel 
(see  Cut)  is  the  first  striking  object  which  meets  the  eye, 
if  the  Crane  at  the  top  of  the  Harbour  be  excepted.  Any  land 
that  is  under  culture  is  on  this  side.  The  chief  Lighthouse 
stands  on  the  highest  point  to  the  west ;  the  smaller  one  (ex- 
hibited in  1844)  is  lower  down,  and  is  only  visible  towards  the 
east,  to  give  warning  of  the  Carr  Rock  at  Fifeness.  Details  of 
the  Light,  with  Woodcuts,  are  given  in  Good  Words  for  1864,  p. 
233.  The  Commissioners'  or  Keception  Boom  is  elegant,  lofty, 
and  well  proportioned.  The  furniture  is  made  of  oak.  On  the 

VOL.  I.  Q 


122  MONASTICON. 

back  of  the  side-board,  and  on  each  of  the  chairs,  is  a  circular 
carving  of  a  Lighthouse,  with  the  Legend,  In  salutem  omnium,  at 
the  top ;  underneath,  Northern  Lighthouses.  Over  the  circle  is 
Isle  of  May ;  underneath,  the  Date  1636.  The  Entry  Door  to 
the  west  is  rarely  opened,  on  account  of  the  blasts.  In  front  is  a 
Sun  Dial,  within  a  walled  Garden,  bearing  no  fruit.  The  Time 
Gun  at  Edinburgh  Castle  is  distinctly  heard.  Time  and  Weather 
are  carefully  attended  to,  and  marked  down  by  good  Instruments. 
The  Burying  Ground  is  most  desolate,  and  shamefully  cared 
for — being  a  Rabbit-iuarren,  full  of  burrows.  Although  many 
have  from  time  to  time  found  their  last  Resting-place  here, 
only  one  humble  Headstone  has  the  honour  to  bear  witness  to 
the  romantic  Spot.  The  Epitaph  is — 

J.        1730       W. 

Here  lies 
JOHN  WISH  ART, 

Husband  to  Euphemia  Horsburgh, 

Who  lived  on  the  Island  of  May,  who  Died  on  March  3,  1730, 
Aged  46. — Memento  mori. 


VALUATION    OF   THE    PKIORY   OF   ISLE    OF   MAY. 

No  information. 
IX.    PlTTENWEEM, 

In  the  Shire  of  Fife,  was  Dedicated  to  the  Virgin  Mary,  of 
whose  Prior  we  read  in  1270,  and  had  a  great  many  Lands 
belonging  to  it,  such  as  Cairnbriggs,  Fawside,  Pittotter,  Loch- 
end,  South  Inch,  Youngslands,  Morton's  Acres,  Greendykes, 
Easter  Grangemuir,  Lingo,  Crofts  of  Crail,  Mayshiels,  with  the 
Churches  of  Rind,  in  Perthshire,  Anstruther  Wester,  and  Pitten- 
weem,  now  erected  into  a  Regality,  called  the  Regality  of  Pitten- 
weem,  of  which  the  Lairds  of  Anstruther  are  heritable  Bailies. 
Colonel  William  Stuart,  Captain  of  his  Majesty's  Guards,  is 
designed  Commendator  of  Pittenweem  in  1567.  His  son, 
Frederick  Stuart,  was  afterwards,  by  the  favour  of  King  James 
VI.,  raised  to  the  dignity  of  Lord  Pittenweem  in  1609;  but, 
dying  without  male  issue,  the  Title  and  Family  became  extinct. 
[Spottiswoode.] 


PRIORY  OF  PITTENWEEM.  123 

This  Priory  is  situated  at  the  east  end  of  the  little  quaint 
Town,  overhanging  the  Harbour  and  Shore.  The  Grounds 
enclosed  within  the  Abbey  Walls  extended  to  about  two  or  three 
Acres,  and  formed  a  parallelogram.  A  considerable  portion  of 
these  Walls  still  exists.  The  site  of  the  Priory  is  the  most 
choice  and  commanding,  in  point  of  view,  in  the  old  Burgh.  The 
Buildings  appear  to  have  formed  the  three  sides  of  a  quadrangle. 
At  the  north-east  corner  of  the  road  called  the  Abbey  Walk,  there 
is  said  to  have  been  a  fortified  Tower,  and  an  Arch,  with  steps  to 
the  top,  across  the  street.  The  Wall  proceeds  southward  along 
the  Abbey  Walk  (a  road  leading  to  the  Harbour),  until  it  reaches 
the  Saw- Mill  and  Fish- Curing  Premises  of  Messrs.  Welsh, 
Brothers,  when  it  takes  a  westerly  direction  along  the  top  of  the 
Cliff  on  which  the  Town  is  built,  turning  northwards  when  it 
touches  the  Cove  Wynd,  and  losing  itself  at  the  present  Town 
Hall.  The  northern  portion  of  the  Wall  runs  along  S.  Mary's 
Street,  from  the  Abbey  Walk  to  the  High  Street,  which  was, 
perhaps,  up  to  the  time  when  it  was  taken  down,  14  years  ago, 
the  highest  and  best  preserved  portion  of  the  whole.  In  this 
northern  section  of  the  Wall  stood  the  principal  outer  entrance, 
a  Norman  Archway,  surmounted  by  the  Coat  of  Arms  of  one  of 
the  Abbots,  said  to  be  John  Forman,  afterwards  Archbishop  of 
St.  Andrews.  The  Wall  was  reported  to  have  been  sufficiently 
broad  to  admit  of  two  sentinels  walking  abreast.  When  S. 
John's  Episcopal  Chapel  was  built  in  1807,  this  north  Gateway 
was  removed,  as  occupying  part  of  its  site  ;  and  the  Coat  of  Arms, 
which  is  carved  on  a  large  stone,  and  has  a  long  illegible  Inscrip- 
tion, was  placed  on  the  outside  of  the  middle  of  the  east  Wall  of 
the  Chapel.  About  30  or  40  yards  west  from  the  Episcopal 
Chapel,  and  opposite  the  foot  of  the  Lady  Wynd,  partly  within 
the  present  Churchyard,  stood  what  was  popularly  termed  the 
Confessional,  but  which  was,  in  reality,  the  ancient  Chapel  of  the 
Priory,  Dedicated  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary.  To  straighten 
the  Street,  this  Chapel  was  demolished  about  20  years  ago ! 
It  had  a  flagged  stone  Roof,  was  nearly  20  feet  square,  and  the 
Walls  from  12  to  14  feet  in  height.  It  was  used  as  a  Watch- 
Tower  in  the  "  resurrectionising  "  days.  There  are  several  large 


124 


MONASTICON. 


fragments  of  stones,  with  undecipherable  Inscriptions  in  old 
English  character,  lying  in  a  heap  where  it  stood.  On  the  south 
side  of  what  is  called  the  Rotten  How — i.e.,  Routine  or  Pro- 
cessional Row — there  is  another  lofty  Wall,  with  a  Doorway,  on 
the  Lintel  of  which  is  a  half- effaced  Inscription  of  two  lines— 
the  legible  part  of  which  is  "  God  is  Love,"  and  the  Date  1661. 
But  this  Stone  is  hardly  old  enough  to  have  formed  a  portion  of 
the  entrance  of  the  Hospital  of  the  Priory,  which  this  Wall  is 
said  to  have  bounded.  The  site  of  the  Hospital  is  now  the 
Garden  of  Mr.  Bayne,  Postmaster.  The  whole  of  this  Property 
belonged  at  one  time  to  Spens  of  Lathallan. 

Passing  by  the  east  side  of  the  Episcopal  Chapel,  down 
the  Avenue,  the  CHIEF  ENTRANCE  to  the  Priory  Buildings 
meets  the  eye.  This  fine  Ruin  faces  eastward,  and  is  about  30 


PRIORY  OF  PITTENWEEM. 


ENTEANCE      PEIOR'S  HALL. 
TO  COVE. 


BISHOP  LOW. 
GREAT    HOUSE, 
PARISH   KIRK, 
AND   STEEPLE. 


OLD  GATE- 
WAY OF 
THE   PP.IOBY. 


EPISCOPAL 
CHAPEL. 


feet  in  height;  is  built  of  massive  stones,  having  a  row  of 
projecting  stones  or  corbels,  near  the  top ;  and  is  mantled  with 
ivy.  Over  its  Norman-arched  Gateway  was  a  Coat  of  Arms. 
At  the  west  side  (or  back),  is  a  flight  of  stone  steps  leading  to 
its  broad  top.  The  lower  portion  of  the  steps  has  disappeared, 
and  only  the  upper  part  remains.  At  the  foot  or  west  side  of 
this  Stair,  is  the  "  Witch  Corner,"  where  the  Pittenweem  Witches 


PRIOKY  OF  PITTENWEEM.  125 

were  Burned  and  Buried.  I  ate  the  first  crop  of  Potatoes  which 
grew  on  this  spot  of  renown.  The  second  Flat  of  the  Ruin 
seems  to  have  been  the  Residence  or  Lodge  of  the  Porter. 
Under  the  stair  above  alluded  to,  there  still  exists  a  well  built 
Arch,  about  14  feet  across.  This  conspicuous  Lodge  led  to  the 
"  Inner  Close,"  or  Paved  Court,  of  the  Priory.  Several  pieces  of 
Encaustic  Tile  have,  from  time  to  time,  been  dug  up  here.  In  later 
times,  and  in  Title  Deeds,  this  "  Ruin  "  was  called  Bailie  Hogg's 
Barn.  In  the  Records  of  the  Burgh  Court  in  1694,  a  Sentence 
is  recorded  against  one  who,  in  the  "  Abbey  Barn,  had  most 
inhumanly  and  cruelly,  without  any  just  cause,  killed  the 
Minister's  cow."  Bailie  Hogg  was  Factor  to  the  Anstruthers, 
and  occupied  the  Great  House  of  the  Priory  after  the  Anstruthers. 
They  had  it  from  the  Countess  of  Kellie,  whose  Jointure-House  it 
was ;  and  the  second  floor  or  flat  of  it  was  for  some  time  the 
Episcopal  Meeting  House.  The  upper  floor  was  let  by  the 
Anstruthers  as  a  Granary,  which  encouraged  rats  to  such  an 
extent  as  to  necessitate  the  removal  of  the  Meeting  House  to  the 
upper  floor  of  the  Town  Residence  of  the  Arnots  of  Balcormo,  in 
the  High  Street.*  There  is  a  'Trance  or  Passage  to  the  Court 
of  the  Priory  from  Cove  Wynd  through  the  Great  House — "  Mrs. 
Hutchison's  house,"  latterly  usually  termed  so  from  this  "knief 
auld  wife,"  as  Bishop  Low  styled  her,  being  long  resident  here 
as  his  tenant.  She  was  of  the  Grahames  of  Morphie,  and  was 
the  second  relict  of  the  Rev.  James  Hutchison,  M.D.,  "  Cauld 
Water  Doctor,"  and  Episcopal  Clergyman  at  Cupar.  Both  are 
Buried  at  Anstruther  Easter.  They  had  one  notorious  Offspring, 
"  Heg,"  who  Married,  at  a  late  date,  Roberton  Wilson,  son  of 
the  Rev.  David  Wilson,  Relief  Minister,  Pittenweem,  and  a 
brother  of  Bishop  William  Scot  Wilson,  who,  when  boys,  with 
their  mother,  for  years  resided  here.  A  Separation  took  place. 

*  It  may  be  mentioned  that,  in  the  middle  Floor  of  this  Tenement  in  High  Street, 
is  a  Room  called  the  Apostles  Hall,  from  the  fact  of  a  Wood  Carving  of  the  Last 
Supper  being  over  the  Fire-place ;  some  persons  alleging  that  this  Carving  was 
removed  from  the  Priory,  and  others  maintaining  that  it  was  taken  from  Carnbee 
House.  This  Domicile  consists  of  three  Storeys,  a  Tower,  and  Cellars  ;  the  Stair  is 
circular,  having  wide  stone  steps ;  two  sections  of  the  House  have  their  landings  at 
different  levels. 


126  MONASTICON. 

"  Meg  "  Died  at  Edinburgh,  and  was  Buried  beside  her  parents 
— not  in  the  usual  way  of  east  and  west,  but  across,  north  and 
south.  She  had  an  elder  sister,  Ann,  who  was  necessitated,  by 
reason  of  her  sister's  voice  and  temperament,  for  several  years  to 
reside  with  her  uncle  at  Laurencekirk,  who  Willed  to  her  all  his 
goods.  She  Died  from  the  effects  of  a  gig  accident,  Intestate, 
and  "Meg"  heired  her,  who  left  (on  dit)  some  J05000  to  her 
22nd  cousin,  Viscount  Arbuthnot !  She  was  fond  of  being  a 
Genealogist !  Her  brother's  children,  who  would  have  got  the 
chief  portion  of  their  Aunt  Ann's  estate,  had  she  left  a  Testa- 
ment, came  off  "  second  best."  I  engross  these  particulars, 
because  "Mrs.  Margaret  Livingston  Hutchison"  (not  Wilson) 
was  35  years  resident  in  the  Great  House  of  the  Priory,  and  was 
a  Character  of  Romance  in  her  way.  She  paid  <£40  to  get  her 
Matrimonial  name  changed  to  what  it  is  on  her  Stone. 

County  people  used  the  Arched  Cellars  of  the  Great  House 
as  a  stable.  Bishop  Low  bought  this  portion  of  the  Priory 
(including  the  Ruin  or  Barn),  in  1812,  from  Thomas  Martin,  for 
£4:01  Thomas  Martin  bought  it  from  the  above-named  Bailie 
Gavin  Hogg,  who  was  Provost  of  Pittenweem.  It  is  tenanted 
by  herring  barrels,  which  pay  rent,  and  are  very  quiet 
neighbours.  From  the  interior  Court  or  Quadrangle  (now  a 
Garden),  is  a  wide  turnpike  stone  stair  leading  to  the  top  of  the 
Great  House.  One  of  the  steps,  from  its  extreme  dampness, 
prognosticates  wet  weather.  There  are  no  proper  landings,  but 
at  every  few  steps  there  is  a  room  or  two  branching  off  north 
and  south.  In  the  east  face  of  this  Building,  is  a  very  good 
specimen  of  a  Scotch  Oriel  Window  of  some  pretensions ;  while 
the  Staircase  also  projects  from  the  rest  of  the  Wall.  The  Oriel 
was  copied  about  four  or  five  years  ago  by  E.  A.  Anderson,  of  the 
Ordnance  Survey,  while  looking  out  for  ancient  designs  for  the 
proposed  repairs  of  Edinburgh  Castle.  As  before  mentioned, 
the  middle  floor  was  the  Episcopal  Chapel  in  Nonjuring  times, 
and  the  Pulpit  stood  close  by  this  Window.  In  the  same  floor  is 
an  Arched  Eecess  in  the  west  Wall,  about  6  feet  high,  and  6 
wide  ;  the  north  part  joined  the  east  Wall.  A  very  fine  view  is 
to  be  had  from  the  upper  Windows  of  this  House — even  "  a 


PRIORY  OF  PITTENWEEM.  127 

prospect  beyond  the  Grave."  This  was  the  Habitation  of  Bishop 
Low's  multifarious  "  Helpers "  or  Curates.  Their  low-roofed 
Parlour  and  small  Closet,  though  as  primitive  as  Monk  or 
Hermit  could  desiderate,  were,  albeit,  wonderfully  comfortable, 
when  we  look  back  and  think  upon  our  Great  House  Cell.  Lady 
Sinclair,  of  Longformacus,  who,  for  many  years,  resided  at 
Carnbee  House,  Died  in  this  portion  of  the  Buildings. 

The  Rev.  John  Sym,  late  of  Old  Greyfriars,  Edinburgh,  and 
Assistant,  in  1834,  to  Eev.  Charles  Addie,  took  a  great  interest  in 
the  Priory,  and  drew  out  ingenious  and  minute  Pen  and  Ink  Plans 
for  the  restoration  of  the  Great  House.  I  often  examined  these 
Plans  23  years  ago.  They  were  stitched  up  in  the  form  of  a 
School  Copy  Book,  and  contained  some  eight  or  nine  leaves,  and 
were  kept  among  pieces  of  twine,  old  letters,  old  hose,  shirt  and 
breeches'  buttons,  et  ccetera,  in  the  bound-in  Drawers  of  the 
Window  of  the  Closet  in  which  Bishop  Low  Died.  Probably 
they,  from  the  way  they  were  kept,  would  be  thought  to  be  mere 
Waste  Paper,  at  the  much-needed  general  Dicht-out  of  these 
Kepositories. 

The  modern  Churchyard,  or  a  portion  of  it,  is  supposed  to  be 
the  Priory  Garden.  At  the  west  side  of  this  Great  House,  the 
Ministers  of  the  Established  Kirk  are  Buried,  and  some  have 
Monuments  in  the  Wall.  At  the  north  side,  occupied  by  Office- 
houses,  the  upper  parts  of  the  Wall  shew  that  the  Buildings  ex- 
tended a  good  space  this  way.  Immediately  to  the  south  of  the 
Great  House,  and  adjoining,  is  the  present  Town  House,  the  front 
and  west  Wall  of  which  were  rebuilt  in  1821.  It  occupies  the  site 
of  the  Prater  or  Refectory  of  the  Priory.  The  east  Wall  (which 
contains  another  Oriel,  now  built  up),  being  considered  safe,  was 
allowed  to  remain.  This  portion  was  presented  to  the  Town  by 
the  Earl  of  Kellie  in  1821.  Still  further  south,  forming  a 
portion  or  corner  of  the  Conventual  Buildings,  stood  what  was 
called  Bishop  Bruce  s  Library,  which  has  almost  entirely  dis- 
appeared. The  whole  of  this  line  of  Buildings  is  probably  what 
was  called  the  General  House  of  the  Monastery,  or  the  Kesidence 
of  the  Inferior  Brethren.  Forming  the  south  portion  of  the 
Square,  is  what  was  the  Prior's  Hall,  latterly  the  Residence  of 


128  MONASTICON. 

Lord  Pittenweem,  eldest  son  of  the  Earl  of  Kellie.  It  was 
inhabited  by  P.  Plenderleith,  Town-Clerk;  and  was  many 
years  the  Residence  of  Bishop  Low,  who,  latterly,  bought 
it  from  W.  Baird,  Esq.,  of  Elie,  with  the  burden  of  £10 
annual  Feu-Duty,  and  bequeathed  it  for  an  Episcopal  Par- 
sonage. This  part  is  best  preserved,  owing  probably  to  its 
being  occupied  by  respectable  tenants.  It  is  three  storeys 
high,  built  on  four  Arches,  one  of  which  seems  to  have  been  the 
entrance  from  the  Quadrangle  to  Cove  Wynd.  The  middle  floor 
is  said  to  have  been  the  Prior's  Refectory,  as  the  east  portion,  or 
present  "  Library,"  is  raised  up  as  a  Dais  for  the  Superior.  If 
so,  it  must  have  formed  a  lofty,  well-proportioned  Hall,  12  feet 
high,  16  or  17  wide,  and  nearly  40  feet  long,  with  four  Windows. 
The  Walls  are  upwards  of  3  feet  thick;  and  in  the  south  Wall  of 
the  present  Dining  Boom,  is  a  small  spiral  stone  Staircase  of  10 
steps,  leading  down  to  a  Cellar  or  Vault,  probably  the  Wine 
Cellar  of  the  Establishment :  Bishop  Low  used  it  as  such,  and 
fitted  it  with  stone  shelves,  which  still  remain.  This  Hall  is  now 
broken  up  into  three  apartments — Dining  Room,  small  Bed  Room 
(in  which  Bishop  Low  Died),  and  Library.  The  Windows  fronting 
the  sea  are  Oriel,  shaved  off  to  modernise  them.  In  the  north- 
west corner  of  the  Prior's  Hall,  is  a  Press,  with  a  recess,  where  a 
fluted  Stone  Pulpit,  or  Lectern,  for  the  Reader  at  meals,  stood. 
There  is  said  to  have  been  a  Passage  from  the  south  Buildings 
to  the  west,  entering  at  this  Press  Door.  Probably  this  was  the 
connexion  between  the  Prior's  House  and  the  other  parts  of  the 
Priory  Buildings,  as  a  small  built-up  Window  in  the  south  Wall 
seems  to  have  been  for  lighting  this  'Trance.  Access  to  the 
Prior's  House  from  the  Quadrangle  on  the  north,  was  by  a  Turret 
with  a  spiral  stone  Staircase,  very  narrow,  and  much  worn; 
taken  down  about  five  years  ago,  to  make  room  for  the  new 
Kitchen  and  Staircase  of  the  Parsonage — the  upper  floor  of 
which  consists  of  three  good  sized  Bed  Rooms,  the  ceilings  being 
nearly  10  feet  high.  Strangers  don't  sleep  soundly  for  the  noise 
of  the  sea,  and  the  exposed  elevation. 

My  friend,  Mr.  David  Cook,  Writer,  Anstruther,  Author  of 
1  'Annals  of  Pittenweem,"  has  given  me  the  following  interesting 


PKIOBY  OF  PITTENWEEM.  129 

Notanda : —  .  .  .  .  "I  have  copied  into  the  Note  now 
sent  you,  a  description,  from  an  old  Charter,  of  a  House  which 
stood  in  the  south-west  corner  of  the  present  Churchyard.  I 
was  very  much  pleased  to  fall  in  with  that  Document,  both 
because  it  casts  light  on  the  arrangement  in  olden  times  of  the 
Priory  Buildings,  and,  still  more,  because  I  think  it  proves  con- 
clusively that  a  Church  or  Chapel  must  have  stood  where  the 
present  Parish  Church  stands.  Hitherto  nobody  could  tell  any- 
thing about  this  Building.  A  pair  of  jambs  were  found  in  it 
about  the  end  of  last  Century,  on  which  knives  had  been 
sharpened,  and  it  was  thence  inferred  that  it  must  have  been 
the  Kitchen  of  the  Priory ;  but  I  believe  that  to  be  downright 

nonsense 

"  The  Prior's  Hall,  or  present  Episcopal  Parsonage,  for- 
merly Bishop  Low's  Kesidence,  was  termed  the  New  Gallery 
(domus  cenobii  prioratus,  vulgo  lie  gallerie).  On  the  west  was  the 
Great  House  of  the  Monastery,  comprising  a  Prater,  or  Kefectory ; 
a  Dortour,  or  Dormitory;  a  Chapter  Chalmer,  and  Vestries; 
while  on  the  north  stood  the  west  Garden  of  the  Priory.  The 
space  enclosed  by  these  Buildings  and  Garden  was  called  the 
Inner  Close.  Beyond  this  Garden,  and  separated  from  it  by  the 
high  Wall  which  still  stands,  was  the  Burying  Ground,  which 
then  occupied  only  part  of  the  space  now  enclosed — the  eastern 
portion  having  been  used  as  a  Garden.  A  Church  or  Chapel 
appears  to  have  stood  very  near  the  site  of  the  present  Parish  Church. 
This  may  be  gathered  from  a  Charter,  Dated  1549,  of  a  piece  of 
Ground  for  the  erection  of  a  Currying  House  at  the  back  of  the 
Dortour  and  Chapter  Chalmer ;  that  is,  in  the  south-west  corner 
of  the  present  Churchyard.  That  piece  of  Ground  is  described 
as  '  totum  et  integrum  spatium  terrae  nrse  continens  triginta 
pedes  in  longitudine  et  totidem  in  latitudine,  facen,  ppe.  eccliam 
uram  de  Pettinweyme  ex  australi  parte  ejusdem,  infra  com.  viam 
Eegiam  qu£e  disjungit  et  separat  nri  Monasterij  stepta  aut  limites 
vel  ambitum  ab  eadem  nfa  villa  de  occidental!,  murum  nostri 
dicti  semeterij*  australem,  super  quo  licebit  ad  infra  scripta 
edificia  edificanda  super  edificare  ex  Boreali,  manorem  nri  dicti 
Monasterij  (omissa  intervallo  quo  satis  opus  fit  scalis  inter- 

VOL.  I.  R 


130  MONASTICON. 

ponendis)  ex  oriental! ;  et  cloaca  sen  latrina  nri  clicti  Monastery 
sub  directa  cum  reliqua  prefatse  terrse  ex  australi  partibus.' 

"  In  many  old  Writings,  these  Buildings  are  described  as 
*  the  auld  Abbey  Place  of  Pettinweyme.' 

"The  Building  described  as  the  Prior's  Hall,  is  now  the 
Kesidence  of  the  Incumbents  of  S.  John's  Chapel. 

"  The  Building  which  adjoined  the  Prior's  Hall  on  the  west, 
and  which  was  termed  the  'New  Gallery,  is  now  almost  entirely 
demolished.  It  was  in  subsequent  times  Bishop  Bruce' 's  Library. 
It  is  a  now  a  corner  for  rubbish. 

"  The  present  Town  Hall  occupies  the  site  of  the  Frater  or 
Kefectory  of  the  Priory ;  and  "  Mrs.  Hutchison's  House,"  next  to 
the  Town  Hall  on  the  north,  was  the  original  Dormitory,  Chapter 
Chamber,  and  Vestries.  These  Buildings,  forming,  as  has  been 
said,  the  Great  House  of  the  Abbey,  or  the  general  Kesidence  of 
the  Inferior  Brethren.  They  were  presented  to  the  Town  by  the 
Earl  of  Kellie  in  1821,  when  they  were  taken  down  for  the  site 
of  the  present  Town  Hall.  Subsequently  to  the  Reformation, 
they  were  feued  by  the  Commendator  of  the  Priory  to  Scott  of 
Abbotshall,  who,  by  Charter  in  1588,  made  a  gift  of  them  to  the 
Magistrates,  Council  Burgesses,  and  Community,  who  were  'to 
reform  and  repair  the  same  as  they  best  can,  to  serve  them  for 
ane  honest,  comely,  and  decent  Kirk,  and  other  necessary  common 
Office  Houses,  for  the  honour,  welfare,  and  decoration  of  their 
said  Town.'  In  1591  this  Grant  was  confirmed  by  Sir  William 
Stewart,  Commendator  of  Pittenweem,  and  subsequently  it  was 
ratified  by  the  King  and  Parliament.  In  place,  however,  of 
converting  these  Buildings  into  a  Church,  as  had  been  con- 
templated, the  Dortour,  Chapter  Chalmer,  and  Vestries,  were 
'repaint  and  biggit'  into  a  Manse  for  the  Minister,  and  the 
Frater  into  a  Grammar- School,  Tolbooth,  Prison,  Weigh-house 
and  Custom-house,  and  other  necessary  houses  for  the  use  of  the 
Burgh.  Mr.  Nicol  Dalgleish,  the  first  Incumbent  of  Pittenweem 
after  its  erection  into  a  Parish,  occupied  this  "Manse  (called  the 
'  Great  House'  of  the  Priory)  for  twelve  years,  from  1596  to  1608. 
On  his  Death,  Mr.  Wedderburn  was  appointed  his  Successor;  but 
Mrs.  Dalgleish  (the  widow  of  the  former  Incumbent),  refused  to 


PEIOEY  OF  PITTENWEEM.  131 

give  up  the  Manse.  Legal  proceedings  were  instituted  against  her, 
and,  during  their  dependence,  Lord  and  Lady  Pittenweem  '  instrusit 
themselves  into  the  possession,'  and  challenged  the  validity  of 
the  Grants  thereof  made  by  the  Commendators  to  the  Magis- 
trates, on  the  ground  that  the  Kirk  of  Pittenweem  was  not  holden 
or  reputed  a  Parish  Kirk,  and  had  not  been  ratified  as  such  by 
Parliament  at  the  time  of  the  erection  of  the  Temporality  in 
favour  of  Lord  Pittenweem,  whereby  the  gift  of  the  Laird  of 
Abbotshall  became  ineffectual.  After  a  lengthened  Litigation, 
an  arrangement  was  come  to  between  the  parties  in  1635,  by 
which  the  Buildings  of  the  old  '  Great  House '  were  divided  be- 
tween the  disputants — the  Lords  of  Erection  taking  the  Manse, 
and  the  Magistrates  the  Tolbooth." 

In  the  south-west  corner  of  the  Garden,  right  in  front  of  the 
Prior's  House,  is  an  Inlet  to  the  Cove  of  Pittenweem.  This  was 
discovered  anew,  and  re- opened  by  the  Kev.  James  Crabb  (late 
Incumbent  of  S.  John's,  Pittenweem,  translated  to  S.  Andrew's, 
Brechin,  1866),  three  or  four  years  ago.  A  flight  of  steps  leads 
from  the  Garden  to  a  square  Door-way,  within  which  is  the  Cell 
of  S.  Fillan,  one  of  the  early  Anchorites  here.  The  Tradition  of 
his  luminous  Arm  is  well  known,  which,  like  Aladdin's  Lamp, 
only  required  to  be  rubbed  to  be  useful.  It  is  indeed  a  deplorable 
loss  that  his  MSS.  and  Illuminations  can  nowhere  be  found. 
Kobert  the  Bruce  ought,  in  gratitude  for  his  victory  at  Bannock- 
burn,  to  have  taken  better  care  of  this  wonderful  Arm  of  S. 
Fillan,  which  Maurice,  the  Abbot  of  Inchaffray,  carried  in  a 
Silver  Box,  to  incite  the  "breekless  soldiers"  on  to  victory. 
The  floor  of  S.  Fillan's  Cell,  which  seems  to  have  been  a  low 
Stone  Arch,  had  given  way,  and  a  wooden  one  is  now  instead. 
The  Stair,  cut  out  of  live  rock,,  leads  to  the  Cove.  The  Cove 
Wynd,  a  narrow  Lane,  about  5  feet  broad,  with  40  stone  steps, 
skirts  the  west  boundary  of  the  Priory,  and  contains  the  Outlet 
from  the  Cove,  about  60  feet  from  the  Shore.  This  Door  is  in 
the  face  of  the  Kock  on  which  the  Priory  stands.  The  Kock 
is  very  rugged,  and  about  50  feet  high.  The  "  Cove,"  or  Cave, 
was,  at  one  period,  evidently  sea-washed.  The  rock  line  of 
the  Coast  is  Pre-Historic.  The  sea  has  encroached  considerably 


132  MONASTICON. 

within  the  last  two  Centuries.  Prior's  Saddle — a  rock  now  under 
water — was  formerly  a  landing-place,  and  had  grass  growing 
upon  it.  At  the  east  end  of  the  old  Eelief  Meeting  House  is  the 
Crossey  Heugh — the  name  indicating  the  stance  of  a  Cross. 

Pittenweem  Cove  is  a  striking  natural  curiosity,  and  was  con- 
veniently fitted  for  a  stealthy  ingress  and  egress  for  the  Keligious, 
who  were  often  Visitors  at  the  adjacent  Isle  of  May,  where  they 
are  supposed  to  have  been  careful,  by  turns,  in  keeping  lights,  for 
the  safety  of  the  seafaring,  from  their  first  settlement.  The  Cove 
contains  a  Spring  of  Water  called  the  "  Marble  Well  of  S. 
Fillan."  While  some  old  houses  were  being  taken  down  to  build 
the  "Prior's  Gate" — the  property  of  Mr.  Andrew  Horsburgh, 
London — there  were  found  several  Stones  having  Carved  Heads, 
evidently  Ecclesiastics'.  These  were  carefully  placed  into  the 
Garden  Wall ;  but  a  ruthless  mason  one  morning  chipped  off  the 
whole,  in  order,  as  he  said,  to  "  mak  the  wa'  uniform  ! "  In  the 
centre  of  the  Avenue  leading  from  S.  John's  Chapel  to  the  present 
Parsonage,  and  at  the  south  corner  of  the  Kuin,  or  Priory  Gate- 
way, was  found,  two  or  three  years  ago,  a  deep  Well,  well  built, 
which  is  now  covered  over. 

While  the  Rev.  John  Parker  Lawson  was  Curate  to  Bishop 
Low,  he  discovered  in  one  of  the  Vaults  two  Doors,  richly  carved 
with  six  Medallions,  or  Heads  of  Sovereigns.  The  Bishop  fitted 
them  up,  together  with  other  oak  pieces,  into  a  Press,  which  he 
bequeathed  to  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  Edinburgh. 

In  the  "Denmylne  or  Supplementary  Documents"  (relating 
to  the  Priory  of  St.  Andrews,  not  included  in  the  Register,  but 
deposited  in  the  Advocates'  Library,  Edinburgh),  No.  XL,  it 
is  stated  that  the  Priories  of  May  and  Pittenweem  having  been 
bought  from  the  Monastery  of  Reading,  and  the  Priory  of  May 
having  always  paid  an  annual  pension  of  16  Marks  to  the  said 
Monastery,  Bishop  Lamberton  commands  that,  for  the  future,  it 
pay  the  same  to  the  Prior  and  Canons  of  St>  Andrews.  Dated 
St.  Andrews,  A.D.  1318. 

An.  1503-4  and  1506,  Andrew  Forman  (Archbishop  of 
Bourges  in  France,  Bishop  of  Moray,  and  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews) 
was  Commendator  of  the  Priory  of  Pittenweem  during  these 


PEIOEY  OF  PITTENWEEM.  133 

years.  His  Arms  are  built  into  the  east  Wall  of  S.  John  the 
Evangelist's  (Episcopal)  Chapel,  Pittenweem. 

Charter  by  the  Prior  of  Pittenweem  in  favour  of  John 
Scott,  of  Pitgordon,  and  Agnes  Moncrieff,  his  Spouse,  of  80 
Acres  of  Land,  which  belonged  to  Thomas  Dishington  and 
Christina  Forman,  his  Spouse.  Dated  20th  December,  1512. 
[Miscell.  Papers.} 

In  1526,  the  Lands  of  the  Priory  were,  by  Charter, 
Confirmed  by  Parliament,  united  into  a  free  Barony,  in  favour 
of  John  Kule,  the  Prior.  This  Charter  was  renewed  in  1540. 
—Lord  James  Stewart  (at  the  time  only  16  years  of  age), 
"  by  Divine  permission,  Perpetual  Commendator  of  the  Monastery 
of  St.  Andrews,"  cited  and  commanded  the  Prior,  Sub-Prior,  or 
any  Canon  of  the  Priories  of  Pittenweem  and  the  Isle  of  May, 
and  Dominus  John  Eoul,  Prior  of  the  said  Priori/  of  Pittenweem^ 
under  pain  of  disobedience  and  suspension,  a  first,  second,  and 
third  time,  to  appear  before  us,  or  those  deputed  by  us,  in  Loco 
Capitular i  of  St.  Andrews,  on  the  third  day  after  receiving  this 
Citation,  at  10  o'clock  A.M.,  for  rendering  due  obedience  to  us 
his  lawful  Superiors,  according  to  the  Rules  of  the  Priory  of 
Pittenweem,  and  the  Order  of  S.  Augustine,  under  pain  of 
Excommunication  and  other  Ecclesiastical  Censures,  which  he 
may  incur  by  Canon  Law  and  the  Eules  of  the  said  Order. 
Given  under  the  Secret  Seal  of  our  Charter,  at  our  Monastery  of 
St.  Andrews,  15th  March,  1549. — In  1543,  James  V.  gave  to  the 
Prior  and  Convent  of  Pittenweem,  the  Town  of  Pittenweem,  to  be 
a  free  Royal  Burgh,  it  having  been  made  formerly  a  free  Burgh 
of  Barony  by  James  III. ;  and,  in  1547,  the  Prior  and  Convent, 
by  two  Charters,  Granted  to  the  Provost,  Bailies,  Council,  Com- 
munity, and  Inhabitants,  the  Burgh,  as  the  same  was  builded, 
or  to  have  been  builded,  and  the  Harbour  thereof,  and  all  Moors, 
Mosses,  &c.,  with  Liberties  and  Customs  belonging  thereto. 

In  the  Inventory  of  Title  Deeds  and  other  Documents  relating 
to  the  Estates  of  Elie  and  Anstruther,  contained  in  six  Charter 
Chests,  at  Elie  House,  Fifeshire,  Bundle  L,  Box  9,  is  a  "Pre- 
cept of  Clare  Constat  by  John  [Roul],  Prior  of  Pittenweem,  in 
favour  of  Thomas  Dishington,  of  Ardross,  to  certain  Lands  of 


134  MONASTICON. 

Grangenmir,  and  certain  Tenements  in  Anstruther  and  Pitten- 
weem.  Dated  13th  October,  1550.  Priory  Seal  Appended.— 
The  above  Domimis  John  Eoul,  Prior  of  Pittenweem  in  1558, 
now  an  aged  man,  received  a  pension  for  life  as  "  Usufructuarius 
Prioratus  Conventualis  Loci  de  Pittenweem  alias  Maio  nuncu- 
patum."  In  1559,  he  probably  Died,  and  was  succeeded  by 
the  above  Lord  James  Stewart,  as  "  Commendator  of  St.  Andrews 
and  Pittenweem."  He  ("Earl  of  Murray,"  one  of  his  titles) 
changed  with  the  times,  and  applied  a  large  portion  of  the 
Eevenues  of  both  Priories  to  his  own  use.  He  was  shot  at 
Linlithgow  in  1571,  leaving  no  male  issue.  He  was  "Com- 
mendator" at  the  "Keformation;"  but,  before  his  Death,  he 
gave  the  Priory  of  Pittenweem  to  Sir  James  Balfour,  of  Pitten- 
dreich,  who  had  been  a  chief  actor  in  the  Murder  of  Darnley. 
For  this  "job,"  and  the  surrender  of  the  Governorship  of  Edin- 
burgh Castle,  he  was  appointed  "  Commendator  of  the  Priory  of 
Pittenweem,"  in  1567. — James  Halyburton,  Tutor  of  Pitcur,  and 
cousin  of  George  Halyburton  the  Laird,  afterwards  Provost  of 
Dundee,  became  Prior  of  Pittenweem,  on  the  forfeiture  of  Sir 
James  Balfour,  but  held  the  Office  only  till  1583.  He  was 
threatened  to  be  put  to  death  on  account  of  Darnley 's  Murder.* 

*  Mr.  James  Halyburton,  Tutor  of  Pitcur,  was  present  at  the  Siege  of  Broughty 
in  1547-8.  He  was  left  in  command  in  certain  Companies  of  Horse.  He  filled  the 
Office  of  Provost  of  Dundee  for  the  long  period  of  thirty-three  years.  This  we  learn 
from  the  following  Inscription  on  the  Monument  erected  to  his  memory  within  the 
New  Church,  Dundee.  It  omits  to  notice  that  he  held  for  some  years  the  Titular 
Office  of  Commendator  of  the  Priory  of  Pittenweem,  I  find  that,  upon  the  death  of 
John  Rewll,  Prior  in  1553,  this  Benefice  was  conferred  on  Lord  James  Stewart, 
Prior  of  St.  Andrews,  of  which  Pittenweem  was  a  dependency.  In  the  view  of 
obtaining  possession  of  the  Castle  of  Edinburgh,  Lord  James,  then  Earl  of  Murray, 
and  Regent,  resigned  the  Priory  in  favour  of  Mr.  (afterwards  Sir)  James  Balfour,  at 
the  end  of  August,  1567,  who  held  it  in  commendam  till  1578-9,  when  "  Mag.  Jacobus 
Balfour  de  Pittendreich  miles,"  in  the  Treasurer's  accounts  is  styled  "  olim  Commen- 
datarius  de  Pettinwenie."  A  Presentation  "  to  the  Pryorie  of  Pettenweem,  vacant 
through  the  process  and  dome  of  forfaltour  ordourlie  led  aganis  Sir  James  Balfour, 
sumtyme  of  Pettendreych,  knycht,  Pryour  and  possessour  of  the  said  Pryorie  and 
Abbacie,"  was  granted  to  Maister  James  Halyburton,  Provost  of  Dundee,  4th  Decem- 
ber, 1579.  In  the  same  Register  of  Presentation  to  Benefices,  on  the  26th  October, 
1583,  we  find  the  Priory  and  Lands  were  conferred  on  the  King's  favourite,  William 
Stewart,  "  Colonell  or  Capitaine  of  his  Hienes  gard,"  the  same  being  vacant  "  be 
deceis  of  umquhile  Sir  James  Balfour,  or  be  resignation  of  Mr.  James  Halyburton, 


PKIOKY  OF  PITTENWEEM.  185 

— In  1572,  Maister  William  Clerk,  Minister  of  Anstruther, 
received  a  pensioun  furth  of  the  Priouric  of  Pettynweym  of  £  80, 
and  ye  same  from  ye  Abbey  of  Dryburgh.  His  stipend  was 
.£140,  and  Maister  Johne  Foreman,  ye  Header,  had  ,£20,  with  the 
Kirkland.  [Rcgist.  of  Minrs.,  cC-c.] — In  1583,  William  Stewart, 
of  Houston,  a  brother  of  Stewart  of  Galston,  in  Ayrshire,  and 
descended  from  Alan  Stewart,  of  Darnley,  Captain  in  the  King's 
Guard,  obtained  a  Charter  of  the  Lands  and  Priory  of  Pitten- 
weem,  and  was  afterwards  styled  "  Commendator  of  Pittenweem." 
The  right,  however,  to  the  coal  on  the  Lands,  which  had  been 
worked  long  before  the  "  Reformation,"  was  not  conveyed  in  the 
Charter,  but  seems  to  have  descended  to  James  Balfour,  Prior  of 
Charter  House.  But,  in  1594,  William  Stewart,  Dame  Isabel 
Hepburn,  his  wife,  and  Frederick,  their  son,  acquired  from  the 
said  James  Balfour,  "  heritable  fiar  of  the  coal  of  the  Barony  of 
Pittenweem,  and  of  two  salt  pans  there,"  and  from  Patrick  Balfour, 
of  Pitcullo  (Proprietor  of  other  two  salt  pans),  all  the  coal  of 
Pittenweem.  The  Salt  Pans  were  of  great  importance,  and  their 
Proprietors  are  carefully  registered  in  the  Charters  granted  from 
time  to  time  in  former  years  by  the  Prior  of  Pittenweem.  The 
remains  of  some  of  them  may  still  be  seen  on  the  St.  Monan's 
Estate,  beneath  an  old  Tower,  on  which  was  once  a  Windmill, 
which  pumped  up  the  water  for  them. — In  the  same  year  (1594), 

last  Priour  and  Commendatouv  thairof,"  26th  October,  1583.  At  a  later  period 
(1016),  the  Priory  and  its  possessions  were  erected  into  a  temporal  Lordship,  by  the 
Title  of  Lord  Pittenweem,  in  favour  of  Stewart,  but  the  Title  became  extinct  in  the 
person  of  his  son. 

PROVOST   JAMES    HALYBURTON's    MONUMENT,    NEW    CHURCH,    WEST-SIDE    PULPIT. 

Hie  situs  est  Jacobus  Halyburtomis,  Patruus  nobilis  Viri,  Georgii  Halyburton  de 
Pitcur,  Militis,  qni  Prrefecturam  Deidoni  urbanam  fauciter  Annos  33  gessit.  Obiit 
Anno  Dom.  1588.  JEtatis  sure  70. 


ALECTI 

PRJEFKCTUS 

TAT  RLE 
VINPEX 

PUPILLI 
TUTOR 

ECCLESIJE  JESU 
ALUMNUS  FUTT. 

This  Inscription  is  Translated  by  Monteith  as  follows  : — Here  lies  James  Haly- 
burton,  Uncle  to  an  honourable  man,  Sir  George  Halyburton,  of  Pitcur,  Knight;  who 
for  the  space  of  thirty-three  years  happily  administred  the  Office  of  Provestship 
within  the  Town  of  Dundee.  He  Died  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1558.  Of  his  age  70. 

Written  on  the  transverse  lines  : — Provest  of  Dundee  ;  Defender  of  his  Country ; 
Protector  of  the  Pupil  and  Orphan ;  and  a  Son  of  the  Church  of  Christ  Jesus. 
[Knoxs  Works,  vol.  ri.,2>art  '2,  p.  678,  Laing's  Edition^} 


186  MONASTICON. 

Stuart  receives  a  Charter  to  the  Lands  of  Pittenweem  and  West 
Anstruther,  united  into  the  Tenantry  of  Pittenweem.  And,  in 
1606,  these  Lands  were  constituted  into  a  temporal  Lordship  in 
favour  of  Frederick,  son  "of  William  Stewart,  with  the  Title  of 
Lord  Pittenweem ;  but,  dying  without  issue,  the  Title  and  Family 
became  extinct, 


Mr.  Cook  writes : — "  The  oldest  of  the  Papers  sent  is  a  Charter  by  John  Howie, 
Prior  of  Pittenweem,  in  favour  of  James  Boswell  and  Eliz.  Hill,  his  Spouse,  Dated 
7th  October,  1540,  to  which  the  Seal  of  the  Priory  had  been  attached,  but  which  is 
now  wanting.  The  next  in  Date,  13th  January,  1540  (1541),  is  the  large  Paper  with 
the  two  Seals  attached.  It  is  not  a  Charter  by  the  Prior  of  Pittenweem  at  all,  but  an 
Instrument  -of  Ratification  and  Confirmation  of  John  Howie's  Charter,  above  referred 
to.  It  is  under  the  hand  of  Thomas  Knox,  Notary  Public,  and  bears  to  have  been 
taken  by  him  in  the  Church  of  Pittenweem,  under  the  authority  of  certain  high 
Ecclesiastics,  named  at  the  commencement  of  the  Document,  one  of  whom  was  the 
Dean  of  Restalrig.  These  Ecclesiastics  appear  to  have  constituted  a  sort  of 
Consistorial  Court,  one  of  the  functions  of  which  seems  to  have  been  the  Confirmation 
of  Grants  made  by  individual  Priors  and  Abbots.  You  will  find  that  John  Howie's 
Charter,  above-noted,  is  copied  verbatim  into  this  Instrument.  The  large  Seal 
attached  to  it,  I  supposed  to  be  the  Seal  of  the  Court ;  the  smaller  one  the  Seal  of  the 
Notary.  There  can  be  no  question  that  neither  of  these  is  the  Seal  of  the  Priory  of 
Pittenweem.  The  other  Document  in  your  possession,  is  a  Charter  in  favour  of  John 
Barclay  and  Isobel  Inglis,  his  Spouse,  Dated  15th  November,  1574,  by  Sir  James 
Balfour,  of  Pittendreich,  Commendator  of  Pittenweem,  and  the  round  broken  Seal 
attached  to  it  is  described  as  "  s'uj ilium  nri.  (nostri)  Monasterij,"  so  that  that  Seal  is 
undoubtedly  the  Seal  of  Pittenweem  Priory.  The  two  Roman  letters  on  it  are  the 
Initials  of  S.  Adrian,  to  whom  the  CliRpel  of  the  Priory  is  supposed  to  have  been 
Dedicated,  I  wish  it  had  been  more  perfect  and  more  legible.  I  have  suggested 
to  Mr.  Conolly,  that  application  should  be  made  to  the  Sea  Box  of  Pittenweem, 
for  a  search  in  their  Charter  Chest  for  one  of  those  Seals." 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYROOD.  187 

Excerpts  from  Inventory  of  Old  Titles  and  Writs  relating  to  Elie  Estate, 
from  1500  to  1853. 

No.  28.  Precept  of  Clare  Constat,  by  William  Stewart,  Commendator 
of  Pittenweem,  to  Michael  Balfour,  of  Balgarvie,  grandson  of  Michael 
Balfour,  of  Burley,  in  Subjects  in  Pittenweem.  Dated  13th  Nov.,  1595. 

No.  29.  Contract  between  Sir  William  Houston,  Prior  of  Pittenweem, 
and  James  Balfour,  Prior  of  Charter  House,  anent  Coal  and  Salt  Pans  of 
Pittenweem.  Dated  April,  1596. 

Priori/  Charts  belonging  to  the  Elie  Estates. 

1.  Chart  tilari/,  consisting  of  166  leaves  of  Parckment,  being  Charters 
granted  by  the  Monastery  of  Pittenweem,  from  3rd  March,  1533,  till  9th 
January,  1556. 

2.  Chartnlanj,  No.  I.,  commencing  30th  July,  1718,  and  ending  15th 
September,  1787  ;  365  pages. 

3.  Chartulanj,  No,  II.,  commencing  26th  January,  1810,  and  ending 
18th  July,  1839  ;  399  pages. 

4.  Chartulanj,  No.  III.,  commencing   8th  August,  1839,   and   ending 
30th  March,  1850  ;  326  pages. 

5.  Chartulanj,  No.  IV.,  commencing  1st  April,  1850  ;  and  ending 

;  887  pages. 

THE    VALUATION    OF    THE    VICARAGE    OF    PITTENWEEM 

Is  set  down  at  80  Merks,  and  of  the  Priory  at  £500. — (Keith) 
£412  12s  8d.  Wheat,  4  Chalders,  5  Bolls;  Bear,  7  Chalders,  2  Bolls; 
Meal,  4  Chalders,  12  Bolls,  2  Firlots,  H  Pecks ;  Oats,  7  Chalders,  2  Bolls,  1 
Firlot,  H  Pecks;  Pease,  1  Chalder,  11  Bolls;  Salt,  24  Chalders. 


X.  HOLYKOOD.     A.D.  1128. 

The  events  which  have  thrown  over  the  Palace  of  Holyrood 
an  Historical  and  Komantic  interest  heyond  what  attaches  to  any 
other  Koyal  Kesidence  in  Britain,  have  almost  obliterated  in  the 
popular  mind  the  memory  of  the  old  Keligious  House. 

The  Abbey,  founded  by  King  David  I.  .in  honour  of  the  Holy 
Cross,  and  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  and  All  Saints,  and  endowed 
for  Canons-Begular  of  the  Rule  of  S.  Augustin,  was  begun  to  be 
built  in  its  present  situation  A.D.  1128.  [Chron.  de  Mailros.— 
Chron.  S.  Cntcis.}  The  Convent  is  said  to  have  been  placed  at 
first  within  the  Fortress  of  Edinburgh  Castle,  which  was  then, 
and  probably  for  some  time  before,  a  Royal  Residence — [Margaret, 

VOL.  I.  S 


138  MONASTICON. 

S.  David's  more  Saintly  Mother,  resided  and  Died  there] ;  and 
some  of  the  earliest  Possessions  bestowed  by  the  Saintly  Founder 
on  his  new  Monastery,  were  the  Church  of  the  Castle,  and  the 
Church  of  S.  Cuthbert,  under  the  Castle  Wall,  with  all  their 
Dependencies  and  Pertinents,  among  which  one  Plot  of  Land 
that  had  very  recently  before  been  given  by  the  King  to  the  latter 
Church,  is  meted  by  "  the  Fountain  which  rises  near  the  corner 
of  the  King's  Garden,  on  the  road  leading  to  S.  Cuthbert's 
Church.'' 

This  History  of  the  first  situation  of  the  Monastery  is  at 
variance  with  the  well-known  Legend  which  connects  its  present 
position  with  the  spot  where  David  had  the  miraculous  escape 
from  the  enraged  Stag,  by  the  intervention  of  the  Holy  Cross. 
Bellenden,  the  Translator  of  Boece,  tells  : — 

How  kyng  Dauid  past  to  the  huntis  on  the  Croce  day  in  heruest. 
How  he  was  doung  fra  his  hors  be  ane  wyld  hart.  And  how 
he  foundit  the  abbay  of  Halyrudhons  be  myracle  of  the  holy 
Croce. 

In  the  fourt  yeir  of  his  regne  this  nobill  prince  come  to  visie  the  madin 
castell  of  Edinburgh.  At  this  tyme  all  the  boundis  of  Scotland  wer  ful  of 
woddis,  lesouris,  and  medois.  For  the  cuntre  wes  more  geuin  to  store  of 
bestiall  than  ony  production  of  corny s.  And  about  this  castell  wes  ane  gret 
forest  full  of  hartis,  hyndis,  toddis,  and  siclike  maner  of  beistis.  Now  wes 
the  Eude  day  curnyn  callit  the  Exaltation  of  the  Croce.  And  becaus  the 
samyn  wes  ane  hie  solempne  day,  the  kyng  past  to  his  contemplation.  Eftir 
that  the  messis  wer  done  with  maist  solempnitie  and  reuerence,  comperit 
afore  him  mony  young  and  insolent  baronis  of  Scotland,  rycht  desyrous  to 
haif  sum  pleisir  and  solace  be  chace  of  hundis  in  the  said  forest.  At  this 
tyme  wes  with  the  kyng  ane  man  of  singulare  and  deuoit  lyfe  namyt 
Alkwine,  channon  eftir  the  ordour  of  Sanct  Augustyne,  quhilk  wes  lang 
tyme  confessoure  afore  to  kyng  Dauid  in  Ingland,  the  tyme  that  he  was  erle 
of  Huntingtoun  and  Northumbirland.  This  religious  man  dissuadit  the 
kyng  be  mony  reasonis  to  pas  to  thys  huntis.  And  allegit  the  day  wes  so 
solempne  be  reuerence  of  the  Holy  Croce,  that  he  suld  gif  hym  erar  for  that 
day  to  contemplation  than  ony  othir  exercition.  Nochtheles  his  dissuasionis 
lityll  aualit,  for  the  kyng  wes  finalie  so  pruokit  be  inoportune  solicitatioun 
of  his  baronis,  that  he  past  nochtwithstandyng  the  solempnite  of  thys  day  to 
his  hountis.  At  last  quhen  he  wes  cumyn  throw  the  vail  that  lyis  to  the 
gret  eist  fra  the  said  castell  quhare  now  lyis  the  Cannogait,  the  staill  past 
throw  the  wod  with  sic  noyis  and  dyn  of  racliis  and  bugillis,  that  all  the 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYKOOD.  139 

bestis  wer  raisit  fra  tliair  dennys.  Now  wes  the  kyiig  cumyu  to  the  fute  of 
the  crag,  and  all  his  nobillis  seuerit  heir  and  thair  fra  hym  at  thair  game 
and  solace,  quhen  suddanlie  apperit  to  his  sycht  the  farest  hart  that  euir 
wes  seue  afore  with  leuand  creatour.  The  uoyis  and  dyn  of  thys  hart 
rynnand  (as  apperit)  with  auful  and  braid  tyndis  niaid  the  kyngs  hors  so 
effrayit  that  na  renyeis  mycht  hald  hym,  hot  ran  per  force  ouir  myre  and 
mossis  away  with  the  kyng.  Nochtheles  the  hart  followit  so  fast,  that  he 
dang  baith  the  kyng  and  his  hors  to  the  ground.  Than  the  kyng  kest  abak 
his  hands  betuix  the  tyndis  of  this  hart  to  haif  sauit  him  fra  the  strak 
thairof,  and  the  haly  Croce  slaid  incontinent  in  his  handis.  The  hart  fled 
away  with  gret  violence  and  euaiiist  in  the  same  place  quhare  now  springis 
the  Eude  well.  The  pepyll  riclit  affrayitly  returnit  to  hym  out  of  all  partis 
of  the  wod  to  comfort  him  efter  his  trubyll,  and  fell  on  kneis^dewotly 
adoryng  the  haly  Croce.  For  it  was  not  cumyn  but  sum  heuinly  prouydence, 
as  weill  apperis.  For  thair  is  na  man  can  schaw  of  yuhat  mater  it  is  of, 
metal  or  tre.  Sone  eftir  the  kyng  returnit  to  his  castel.  And  in  the  nicht 
following,  he  was  admonist  be  ane  vision  in  his  sleip,  to  big  ane  Abbay  of 
channonis  regular  in  the  same  place  quhare  he  gat  the  Croce.  Als  sone  as 
he  was  awalkinnit  he  schew  his  vision  to  Alkwine  his  confessour.  And  he 
na  thing  suspendit  his  gild  mind,  bot  erar  inflammit  him  with  maist  feruent 
deuotion  thairto.  The  kyng  incontinent  send  his  traist  seruandis  in  France 
and  Flanderis,  and  brocht  rycht  crafty  masonis  to  big  this  Abbay,  syne 
dedicat  it  in  the  honour  of  this  haly  Croce.  This  Croce  remanit  con- 
tinewally  in  the  said  Abbay  to  the  tyme  of  kyng  Dauid  Bruce,  quhilk  was 
unhappely  tane  with  it  at  Durame,  quhare  it  is  halden  yit  in  gret  veneration. 

It  seems,  therefore,  to  be  almost  a  certainty  that  it  was  the 
inheritance  of  this  highly-valued  Kelic  which  caused  the  King  to 
Dedicate  the  Ahhey  to  the  "  Holy  Eude;"  and  this  supposition 
is  strengthened  by  the  fact  that  David  himself  presented  it  to  the 
Keligious  House  which  he  had  Founded.  [Holingshed.  Hist. 
Scot.,  p.  177.]  It  seems  not  improbable  that,  being  given  by 
David  to  the  Canons,  while  yet  resident  in  the  Castle,  they  con- 
tinued to  keep  it,  for  greater  security,  in  their  Chapel  in  that 
Fortress,  since  it  appears  among  the  other  Eegalia  found  in  the 
Treasury  of  the  Castle  in  1291,  in  which  year  it  was  surrendered 
to  Edward  I.,  with  all  the  other  emblems  of  Scottish  Nationality, 
but  was  restored,  according  to  the  stipulations  of  the  Treaty  of 
Northampton,  in  1328.  Under  the  name  of  "  The  Black  Eude," 
this  Eelic  was  for  Ages  regarded  as  the  Palladium  of  Scotland 
and  her  Kings.  Unfortunately,  however,  David  II.  carried  it 
with  him  to  the  fatal  Field  of  Neville's  Cross,  where,  on  the  17th 


140 


MONASTICON. 


October,  1346,  it  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Conquerors,  and  for 
Centuries  thereafter  was  exhibited  as  an  object  of  veneration  in 
the  "Sowth  Alley"  of  the  Cathedral  Church  of  Durham.  To 
the  Scottish  people  it  must,  indeed,  have  seemed  a  terrible 
corroboration  of  the  awful  potency  of  the  Cross  of  S.  Margaret, 
that,  on  the  very  day  when  it  passed  from  the  hands  of  her 
youthful  descendant,  he  himself,  and  the  flower  of  his  Nobility, 
either  perished  on  the  Field,  or  became  the  captives  of  the 
English. 

The  "  Eood  Well"  is  not  now  known  by  that  name.  But  at 
no  great  distance  from  the  Abbey,  is  one  which  bears  the  marks  of 
ancient  reverence,  and  which  is  yet  sometimes  visited  by  a 
Pilgrim  of  the  old  Religion.  This  is  S.  Margaret's  Well,  which 
still  flows  as  clear  as  in  the  days  of  S.  David. 

There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  year  1128  was  the  Date 
of  the  commencement  of  the  building  of  the  Abbey  on  its  present 
site.  The  Charter  of  Foundation  came  into  possession  of  the 
City  of  Edinburgh,  upon  the  citizens  acquiring  from  the  noble 
Family  of  Roxburgh,  in  1633,  the  Possessions  of  the  Abbey. 


CHAET  OF  THE  FOUNDATION  OF  THE  ABBEY  OF  HOLYROOD. 


In  nomine  Domini  nostri  Ihesu 
Christi,  et  in  honore  Sancte  Crucis, 
et  Sancte  Marie  uirginis,  omnium- 
que  sanctorum.  EGO  DAUID  Dei 
gracia  EEX  SCOTTORUM,  regali  aucto- 
ritate,  assensu  Henrici  filij  mei,  et 
episcoporum  regni  mei,  comitum 
quoque  baronumque  confirmatione 
et  testimonio,  clero  eciam  acquies- 
cente  et  populo,  diuino  instinctu, 
omnia  subscripta  Concedo  ECCLESIE 
SANCTE  CRUCIS  EDWINES-BURGENSI, 
et  pace  perpetua  Confirmo.  Hec 
itaque  sunt,  que  ecclesie  prefate  et 
Canonicis  regularibus  in  eadem  Deo 
seruientibus,  in  liberam  et  perpetuam 
elimosinam,  concedimus ;  Ecclesiam 
scilicet  Castelli,  cum  omnibus  ap- 
pendicijs  et  rectitudinibus  suis,  et 
examen  duellii  aque  et  ferri  calidi, 
quantum  ad  ecclesiasticam  digni- 
tatem pertinet :  Et  cum  Salectuna, 


In  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  in  honour  of  the  Holy 
Hood,  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  and 
All  Saints.  I,  David,  by  the  Grace 
of  God,  King  of  the  Scots,  by  my 
Royal  authority,  with  the  consent  of 
Henry,  my  son,  and  the  Bishops  of 
my  Kingdom,  with  the  Confirmation 
and  Attestation  also  of  the  Earls 
and  Barons,  the  Clergy,  moreover, 
and  the  people  assenting,  by  Divine 
guidance  Grant  and  Confirm  in 
peaceable  possession  to  the  Church 
of  the  Holy  Eood  of  Edinburgh,  the 
several  things  hereinafter  men- 
tioned : — That  is  to  say,  I  grant  to 
the  Church  foresaid,  and  to  the 
Canons-Eegular  serving  God  in  the 
same,  in  free  and  perpetual  alms, 
the  Church  of  the  Castle,  with  the 
appurtenances  and  rights  thereof ; 
trial  by  duel,  water,  and  fire  ordeal, 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYltOOD. 


Ill 


per  suas  rectas  diuisaa :  Et  ecclesiam 
Sancti  Cvtliberti,  cum  parocliia  et 
omnibus  rebus  que  eidem  Ecclesie 
pertinent ;  et  cum  Kyrchetune  per 
rectas  diuisas  suas,  et  cum  terra  in 
qua  ipsa  ecclesia  sita  est,  et  cum 
alia  terra  que  sub  Castello  iacet ; 
uidelicet,  a  fonte  qui  oritar  iuxta 
angulum  gardini  mei  per  uiam  qua 
itur  ad  ecclesiam  Sancti  Cvtliberti, 
et  ex  alia  parte  sub  Castello  usque 
quo  peruenitur  ad  unam  craggam, 
que  est  sub  eodem  Castello  uersus 
orientum ;  et  cum  duabus  Capellis 
que  ad  eandem  Ecclesiam  Sancti 
Cutliberti  pertinent,  scilicet  Cros- 
torpliiu,  cum  duabus  bouatis  terre 
et  sex  acris ;  et  ilia  Capella  de 
Libertune  cum  duabus  Bouatis  terre 
et  cum  omnibus  decimis  et  rectitu- 
dim'bus  tarn  de  uiuis  quam  de  mor- 
tuis  de  Legbernard  quas  Macbet 
vere  eidem  ecclesie  dedit :  Et  ego 
concessi  eciam  ecclesiam  de  Hereth, 
cum  terra  que  ad  eandem  ecclesiam 
pertinet,  et  cum  tota  terra  quam  ego 
ei  aumentaui  et  dedi,  sicut  ministri 
mei  et  probi  homines  perambula- 
uerunt  et  tradiderunt  Alwino  Ab- 
bati ;  cum  una  salina  in  Herein,  et 
xxvj  acris  terre.  Quam  ecclesiam 
et  terrain  prenominatam,  uolo  ut 
canonici  Sancte  Crucis  teneant  et 
possideant  in  perpetuum,  libere  et 
quiete.  Et  proliibeo  firmiter,  ne 
aliquis  Canonicos  siue  homines 
eorum,  qui  in  eadem  terra  maneiit, 
iniuste  grauent  aut  disturbent ; 
neque  aliquas  operationes,  siue  aux- 
ilia,  siue  consuetudines  seculares, 
iniuste  ab  eis  exigant.  Yolo  eciam, 
ut  idem  Canonici  habeant  libertatem 
molendini  faciendi  in  eadem  terra  : 
Et  ut  habeant  in  Hereth,  omnes 
consuetudines  illas  et  rectitudiiies 
et  aeisamenta,  uidelicet,  in  aquis, 
in  piscationibus,  in  pratis,  in  pas- 
cuis,  et  in  omnibus  aliis  necessariis 
rebus,  sicut  melius  habuerunt  die 
ilia  qua  illani  habui  in  meo  dominio : 
Et  Broctunam,  cum  suis  rectis 


so  far  as  pertains  to  the  Ecclesiasti- 
cal dignity;  with  the  Town  of 
Saughtoii,  and  its  legal  bounds; 
and  the  Church  of  S.  Cuthbert,  and 
the. Parish,  and  all  things  pertaining 
to  the  said  Church,  and  with  the 
Kirktown  and  its  bounds,  and  the 
Land  on  which  the  Church  stands ; 
and  with  the  other  Land  lying  under 
the  Castle ;  viz.,  from  the  Spring 
which  rises  near  the  corner  of  my 
Garden,  by  the  way  which  leads  to 
the  Church  of  S.  Cuthbert,  and  on 
the  other  side,  under  the  Castle,  as 
far  as  a  crag  beneath  the  said  Castle 
towards  the  east ;  with  two  Chapels 
which  belong  to  the  said  Church  of 
S.  Cuthbert,  namely  Crostorphin, 
with  two  Bovates  *  and  six  Acres  of 
Land,  and  the  Chapel  of  Libberton, 
with  two  Oxgangs  f  of  Laud,  and 
with  all  the  tithes  and  rights  both 
of  the  living  and  the  dead  of  Leg- 
bernard, which  Macbeth  gave  to  the 
said  Church,  and  I  have  Confirmed  ; 
the  Church  of  Airth,  with  the  Land 
which  pertains  to  the  said  Church, 
and  with  all  the  Land  which  I  have 
added  and  Granted  to  it,  as  my 
officers  and  good  men  have  peram- 
bulated and  delivered  the  same  to 
Alwin  the  Abbot,  with  a  Saltpan  in 
Airth,  and  26  Acres  of  Land,  which 
Church  and  Land  before  named  I 
will  that  the  Canons  of  the  Holy 
Rood  shall  hold  and  possess  freely 
and  peaceably  for  ever,  and  I  strictly 
prohibit  any  one  from  unjustly  op- 
pressing or  disturbing  the  Canons, 
or  their  men  who  dwell  on  the  said 
Lands,  or  unjustly  exacting  from 
them  any  works,  or  aids,  or  secular 
customs.  I  will  also  that  the  said 
Canons  shall  have  liberty  to  erect  a 
Mill  on  the  said  Land,  and  that 
they  shall  have  all  the  customs  and 
rights  and  easements  in  Airth — 
namely,  in  waters,  in  fishings,  in 

*  Bovate,  15  Acres. 

f  Oxgany,  same  as  Bovate. 


142 


MONASTICON. 


diuisis  :  Et  Iimerlet  illam,  que  uici- 
nior  est  portui,  cum  rectis  diuisis 
suis  et  cum  ipso  portu :  Et  cum 
medietate  piscationis  ;  et  cum  tota 
decima  tocius  piscationis  que  .  ad 
ecclesiam  Sancti  Cutliberti  pertinet : 
Et  Petendreiam,  cum  suis  rectis 
diuisis :  Et  Hamere  et  Fordam, 
cum  suis  rectis  diuisis :  Et  Hospi- 
tale,  cum  una  carucata  terre  :  Et 
quadraginta  solidos  de  meo  burgo  de 
Edwinesburg  singulis  annis  :  Et 
redditu  centum  solidoruni  singulis 
annis,  ad  indumenta  canoiiicoruin, 
Decano  meo  de  Pert,  et  hoc  de 
primis  nauibus  que  negotiationis 
causa  ueniunt  ad  Pert ;  et  si  forte 
non  uenerint,  concede  prefate  Ec- 
clesie  de  meo  redditu  de  Edwines- 
burg, quadraginta  solidos,  et  de 
Striueline  uiginti  solidos,  et  de  Pert 
quadraginta  solidos  :  Et  unum  tof- 
tum  in  Striueline,  et  tractum  unius 
retis  ad  piscandum  :  Et  unum  tof- 
tum  in  burgo  meo  de  Edwinesburg, 
liberum  et  quieturn  ab  omni  con- 
suetudine  et  exactione :  Et  unum 
toftum  in  Berewic,  et  tractum  duo- 
rum  retium  in  Scypwel :  Et  unum 
toftum  in  Renifry  quinque  parti- 
carum,  et  tractum  unius  retis  ad 
salmones  et  ibi  piscari  ad  allechtia 
libere  :  Et  prohibeo  ne  aliquis  inde 
a  nobis  siue  ab  hominibus  nostris 
aliquas  consuetudines  exigat.  Con- 
cedo  eciam  prefatis  Canonicis  de 
camera  mea  singulis  annis  decem 
libras,  ad  luminaria  ecclesie  et  ad 
operaciones  eiusdeni  ecclesie  et  ad 
reparacionein  earundem  operatic  - 
num  imperpetuum.  Precipio  eciam, 
omnibus  ministris  nieis  et  Fores- 
tarijs  de  Struielin-fire  et  de  Clac- 
manant,  quod  Abbas  e£  conuentus 
liabeant  liberam  potestatem  in  om- 
nibus nemoribus  meis  et  Forestis, 
capiendi  tantum  de  materia  quan- 
tum eis  placuerit,  et  uoluerint,  ad 
edificacionem  ecclesie  sue  et  domo- 
rum  suorum  et  ad  quelibet  negocia 
sua  facienda;  et  precipio,  quod 


meadows,  in  pastures,  and  in  all 
things  necessary,  as  amply  as  when 
they  were  in  my  own  possession  ; 
and  Broughtoii,  with  its  legal 
bounds,  and  Inverleith,  which  is 
near  the  Harbour,  with  its  legal 
bounds,  and  the  Harbour  itself,  and 
half  of  the  fishing,  and  with  the 
whole  tithe  of  all  the  fishing  which 
pertains  to  the  Church  of  S.  Cuth- 
bert;  and  Pittendreich,with  its  legal 
bounds,  and  Whitekirk.  and  For- 
dam, with  their  bounds,  and  the 
Hospital,  with  a  Carucate  *  of  Land ; 
and  an  annuity  of  forty  shillings 
from  my  Burgh  of  Edinburgh,  and 
an  annual  rent  of  one  hundred  shil- 
lings for  the  apparel  of  the  Canons 
out  of  my  kain  f  of  Perth,  from  the 
first  merchant  ships  that  come  to 
Perth ;  and,  if  by  chance  such 
should  not  come,  I  Grant  to  the 
said  Church,  out  of  my  revenue  of 
Edinburgh,  forty  shillings,  and  of 
Stirling,  twenty  shillings,  and  of 
Perth,  forty  shillings,  and  a  toftj  in 
Stirling,  and  the  draught  of  a  fish- 
ing net,  and  a  toft  in  my  Burgh  of 
Edinburgh,  free  and  quit  of  all 
custom  and  exaction,  and  a  toft  in 
Berwick,  and  the  draught  of  two 
nets  in  Spytwell,  and  a  toft  in  Ken- 
frew  of  five  roods,  and  the  draught 
of  a  net  for  salmon,  and  liberty  to 
fish  there  for  herring;  and  I  pro- 
hibit any  one  from  exacting  any 
customs  from  you  and  your  men; 
I  Grant  also  to  the  foresaid  Canons 
from  my  own  Chamber,  ten  pounds 
annually,  for  lighting  and  repairing 
the  Church  in  perpetuity ;  I  com- 
mand also  all  my  servitors  and 
foresters  in  the  Counties  of  Stirling 
and  Clackmannan,  to  give  the  Ab- 


*  Carucate,  as  much  land  as  a  plough 
could  till  in  one  year,  reckoned  at  100 
Acres. 

|  Kain,  petty  Tithes  paid  to  the 
Church. 

I  Toft,  House  or  Tenement. 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYKOOD. 


148 


homines  eorum,  qui  ad  eorum  ne- 
gocia  in  eisdem  nemoribus  materiem 
capiunt,  meam  firmam  pacem  habe- 
ant,  et  ita  quod  non  permittatis, 
quod  in  aliquo  disturbentur :  Et 
porcos  dominios  supradicte  ecclesie, 
in  omnibus  nemoribus  meis,  con- 
cedo  esse  quietos  de  padnagio.  Con- 
cede eciam  prefatis  Canonicis,  me- 
diatatem  sepii  et  uucti  et  coriorum 
de  occisa  de  Edwinesburg :  Et  deci- 
mam  de  omnibus  cetis  et  marinis 
beluis,  que  mari  eueniunt  ab  Avin 
usque  ad  Colbrandespade :  Et  deci- 
mam  omnium  placitorum  meoruni 
et  lucrorum,  ab  Avin  usque  ad  Col- 
brandespade: Et  medietatem  rnee 
decime,  de  ineo  cano  et  de  meis 
placitis  et  lucris,  de  Kentyr  et  de 
Errogeil :  Et  omnes  pelles  arietinas 
et  ouinas  et  agninas,  de  Castello  et 
de  Linlitcu,  que  moriuntor  de  meo 
dominio  :  Et  octo  cheldras  de  brasio 
et  octo  de  farina  et  triginta  carratas 
de  Buslie  de  Libertuue ;  Et  unum 
de  meis  molendinis  de  Dene  :  Et 
decimam  molendini  de  Libertune,  et 
de  Dene,  et  noui  molendini  de 
Edwinesburg :  Et  Craggenemarf, 
quantum  hide  habeo  in  meo  domi- 
nio, et  quantum  Vineth  Albus  eis 
de  eodem  Craggo  in  elimosinam 
dedit.  Concede  eciam  eis  herber- 
gare  quoddani  burgum  inter  eandem 
Ecclesiam  et  meum  burgum :  Et 
concede  ut  burgenses  eorum,  liabe- 
ant  comniunioiienivendendires  suas 
uenales  et  emendi,  in  foro  meo, 
libere  et  absque  calumpnia  et  con- 
suetudine,  sicut  mei  proprii  bur- 
genses: Et  prohibeo,  ne  aliquis  in 
burgo  eorum,  paneui  uel  ceruisiam, 
aut  pannum,  aut  aliquid  uenale 
capiat  per  uim,  aut  sine  uoluntate 
burgensium  :  Concede  eciam,  Cano- 
nicos  esse  quietos  de  theloneo  et 
de  omni  consuetudine,  in  omnibus 
burgis  meis,  et  per  totani  terrain 
meani,  scilicet  de  omnibus  rebus 
quas  ement  et  uendent :  Et  proliibeo 
ne  aliquis  capiat  pandum  super 


bot  and  Convent  full  liberty  to  take 
out  of  all  my  woods  and  forests  as 
much  wood  as  they  please  and  desire 
for  the  building  of  their  Church  and 
Houses  and  other  purposes ;  and  I 
command  that  their  men  who  take 
wood  from  the  said  forests  for  their 
use  shall  have  my  firm  peace,  and 
that  they  shall  not  be  in  any  way  dis- 
turbed ;  and  I  grant  also  that  the  lord- 
ship swine  of  the  said  Church  feeding 
in  my  woods,  shall  be  free  of  pan- 
nage." I  also  Grant  to  the  said  Ca- 
nons, one-half  of  the  tallow,  lard,  and 
hides  of  the  beasts  slaughtered  in 
Edinburgh,  and  the  tithe  of  all 
whales  and  marine  animals  due  to 
me  from  the  Elver  Avon  as  far  as 
Cockburnspath,  and  the  tithe  of  all 
my  pleas  and  profits  from  the  said 
Eiver  Avon  as  far  as  Cockburnspath, 
and  the  half  of  the  tithe  of  my  kain, 
and  of  my  pleas  and  profits  of  Kin- 
tyre  and  Argyle ;  and  the  skins  of 
all  the  rams,  sheep,  and  lambs  of 
my  lordship  of  the  Castle,  and  of 
Linlithgow,  which  die  naturally, 
and  eight  Chalders  of  Malt,  and 
eight  of  Meal,  and  thirty  cartloads 
of  the  brushwood  of  Libberton,  and 
one  of  my  Mills  of  Dean,  and  the 
tenths  of  my  Mill  of  Libberton  and 
of  Dean,  and  of  the  new  Mill  of 
Edinburgh,  and  Craigendsrnark,  as 
much  as  is  in  my  lordship,  and  as 
much  of  the  said  crag  as  Vineth 
White  gave  to  them  in  free  gift. 
I,  moreover,  Grant  liberty  to  them 
to  found  a  Burgh  between  the  said 
Church  and  my  Burgh,  and  that 
their  Burgesses  have  liberty  to  sell 
and  buy  in  my  market  freely,  and 
without  blame  or  dues,  like  my  own 
Burgesses ;  and  I  prohibit  any  one 
in  my  Burgh  from  taking  by  force, 
or  without  consent  of  the  Burgesses, 
their  bread,  ale,  cloth,  or  other  ven- 
dible commodity.  I  also  Grant  that 

:':  Dues  levied  on  swine  feeding  in  the 
lloyal  woods  upon  beech  nuts,  mast,  &c. 


144 


MONASTICON. 


terram  Sancte  Crucis,  nisi  Abbas 
eiusdem  loci,  rectum  et  ius  facere 
recusauerit :  Volo  autem,  ut  omnia 
prescripta  ita  liberaliter  et  quiete 
teneant  sicut  ego  meas  proprias 
terras  possideo :  Et  volo,  ut  Abbas 
curiam  suam,  ita  liberaliter  et  quiete 
teneant,  sicut  ego  meas  proprias 
terras  possideo :  Et  volo,  ut  Abbas 
curiam  suam,  ita  libere  et  plenarie 
et  lionorifice  habeat,  sicut  Episco- 
pus  Sancti  Andree  et  Abbas  de 
Dunfermelin  et  Abbas  de  Kelcov, 
curias  stias  liabeant.  His  TESTIBUS, 
Rodberto  episcopo  Sancti  Andree, 
Johanne  episcopo  Glasgvensi,  Hen- 
rico,  filio  meo,  Wilelmo  nepote  meo, 
Eadwardo  cancellario,  Hereberto 
camerario,  Gillimicliael  comite, 
Gospatricio  fratre  Dolfini,  Eodberto 
de  Monte  Acuto,  Eodberto  de  Bur- 
neuile,  Petro  de  Brvs,  Normanno 
uicecomite,  Oggu,  Leising,  Gillise, 
Wilelmo  de  Graham,  Turstano  de 
Crectune,  Blenio  archidiacono,  Ael- 
frico  capellano,  Waleranno  capel- 
lano. 

[Lib.   Cart.  Sancte  Cntc.,  p.  3. — 
Bawnatyne  Club.] 


the  Canons  be  free  of  all  toll  and 
custom  in  all  my  Burghs,  and  in  all 
my  Lands,  for  everything  they  buy 
and  sell ;  and  I  prohibit  every  one 
from  executing  a  poinding  on  the 
Lands  of  the  Holy  Rood,  except  the 
Abbot  of  that  place  shall  have  re- 
fused to  do  right  and  justice.  I 
will  likewise  that  they  hold  all  the 
before -written  subjects  as  freely  and 
quietly  as  I  possess  my  own  Lands, 
and  I  will  that  the  Abbot  shall  hold 
his  Court  as  freely,  and  with  as 
ample  powers,  as  the  Bishop  of  St. 
Andrews,  the  Abbot  of  Dunfermline, 
and  the  Abbot  of  Kelso,  hold  their 
Courts.  Before  these  Witnesses, 
Robert,  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews ; 
John,  Bishop  of  Glasgow;  Henry, 
my  son ;  William,  my  nephew ; 
Edward  the  Chancellor;  Herbert 
the  Chamberlain  ;  Gillemichael  the 
Earl ;  Gospatric,  brother  of  Dol- 
phin ;  Robert  de  Montague  ;  Robert 
de  Burneville ;  Peter  de  Bruce ; 
Norman  the  Sheriff;  Oggu;  Leis- 
ing ;  Gillisse ;  William  de  Graham ; 
Turstan  de  Creichton ;  Blein  the 
Archdeacon;  ^Elfric  the  Chaplain; 
Waleran  the  Chaplain. 


Fordun  styles  the  Abbey  "  The  Monastery  of  the  Crag  of  the 
Holy  Rood,"  and  Joannes  Hagustaldensis,  the  Continuator  of 
Simeon  of  Durham,  calls  it  simply  the  "  Monastery  of  the  Crag." 
David  appears,  in  the  first  instance,  to  have  located  his  Canons, 
whom  he  brought  from  the  Augustinian  Monastery  of  St.  An- 
drews, upon,  or  at  the  base  of,  the  Castle  Eock  of  Edinburgh, 
and  it  is  difficult  to  determine  the  precise  period  when  they 
settled  on  the  meadow  below  Arthur  Seat.  The  terms  of  the 
Charter  of  1143-7  would  seem  to  imply  that  they  were  by  that 
time  established  in  their  own  House ;  but  Father  Hay,  Canon  of 
St.  Genevieve  at  Paris,  in  the  Eeign  of  James  VII.,  who  made 
an  attempt  to  ascertain  the  early  History  of  the  Abbey,  confines 
them  to  the  Rock  till  the  Reign  of  William  the  Lion,  and,  in 
confirmation  of  this,  speaks  of  the  numerous  Charters  of  Malcolm 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYKOOD.  145 

IV.,  which  are  Dated  "  At  the  Monastery  of  the  Holy  Kude,  in 
the  Castle  of  Maidens." 

David  II.,  in  1343,  presented  to  the  Abbot  and  Convent  the 
Chaplainry  of  his  own  Chapel,  constituting  the  Abbot  his  princi- 
pal Chaplain,  with  liberty  to  substitute  one  of  the  Canons  in  his 
room,  who  should  enjoy  all  the  Dues  and  Oblations  pertaining  to 
the  said  Eoyal  Chapel — a  Grant  which  was  Confirmed  by  Kobert 
III.  and  other  Kings.  David  II.  also  erected  the  whole  Lands 
in  the  possession  of  the  Abbey  into  a  free  Regality;  and  his 
Successor,  Robert  II.,  Granted  to  the  Canons  a  site  for  a  House 
on  the  Castle  Rock,  to  which  they  and  their  dependents  might 
betake  themselves  in  time  of  peril. 

Many  important  Grants  were  conferred  upon  the  Abbey 
besides  those  contained  in  the  Charter  of  its  Founder.  Robert, 
Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  Granted  the  Church  of  Karreden,  with 
two  Ploughgates  of  Land ;  Turstan,  the  son  of  Leving,  Granted 
or  Confirmed  to  "  The  Church  of  the  Holy  Rood  of  the  Castle 
of  Maidens"  and  its  Canons,  the  Church  of  Levingstone  [ecclesia 
de  Villa  Leving] ;  Thor,  the  son  of  Swanus,  bestowed  on  them 
all  right  he  had  in  the  Church  of  Trevernent  [Tranent],  its  Lands, 
Pastures,  and  Tithes.  Willelmus  de  Veteri  Ponte  bestowed  the 
whole  Land  of  Ogelfas  [Ogilface.]  At  a  very  early  period  the 
Monks  of  Holyrood  obtained  the  Church  of  Kinnel,  with  a 
Ploughgate  of  Land,  by  the  gift  of  Herbert,  the  Chamberlain  of 
Scotland;  and  the  Church  of  Paxtuu,  and  the  Church  of  Bath- 
chet  [Bathgate],  with  a  Ploughgate  of  Land  pertaining  to  it ;  but 
this  latter  Church  they  afterwards  made  over  to  the  Monks  of 
Newbotle,  in  exchange  for  certain  Lands  in  the  Carse  of  Falkirk. 

In  the  Twelfth  Century,  Fergus,  Lord  of  Galloway,  who 
afterwards  became  a  Monk  of  Holyrood,  and  his  son,  Uchtred, 
were  munificent  Benefactors  of  the  Abbey.  They  presented  to 
it,  among  other  valuable  Grants,  the  Church  of  S.  Mary  and  S. 
Bruok  of  Dunroden,  in  later  times  annexed  to  the  Parish  of 
Kirkcudbright;  the  Island  of  Trahil  [now  S.  Mary's  Isle],  on 
which  was  erected  the  Priory  of  S.  Mary  of  Trail,  a  Cell  of 
Holyrood  ;  the  Church  of  Galtweid ;  the  Church  of  S.  Bridget  of 
Blakhet,  elsewhere  styled  Lochblacket  [Kirkbride  ?],  the  Church 

VOL.  I.  T 


146  MONASTICON. 

of  S.  Cuthbert  of  Desnesmor  [the  present  Kirkcudbright] ;  the 
Church  of  Tuncgeland ;  the  Church  of  Twenhame ;  the  Church 
of  S.-  Constantine  of  Colmanele,  alias  Kircostintyn,  with  the 
Chapel  of  S.  Constantine  of  Egingham ;  the  Church  of  S.  Andrew, 
or  Kirkandrew  Balemakethe  [Balmaghie] ;  the  Church  of  Kele- 
tun,  alias  Locheletun,  and  the  Church  of  Kyrkecormac,  with  the 
Chapel  of  Balnecros.  The  four  last-mentioned '  Churches  or 
Chapels  had  previously  belonged  to  the  Monks  of  lona.  [Lib. 
Cart.  Sanct.  Crucis,  p.  41.]  David,  the  son  of  Terr,  contributed 
to  the  House  the  Church  of  Anewith  [Anwoth],  with  the 
Chapel  of  Culenes.  The  Church  of  Eglysbryth  [Falkirk]  was  an 
early  acquisition,  as  also  the  Church  of  Mount  Lothian,  a  Parish 
annexed  to  Penycuik :  the  Church  of  Melginche,  with  the  Land 
called  Abthen ;  the  Chapel  of  Penteland  ;  the  Church  of  Boulton 
[a  gift  of  the  Family  of  De  Veteriponte  or  Yipont] ;  the  Church 
of  Eistir  Kyngorne ;  the  Church  of  Ur ;  the  Church  of  S.  Con- 
stantine of  Crawfurd,  with  the  Chapel  of  the  Castle ;  the  Church 
of  Baru  [Barra  united  to  Garvald],  and  the  Church  of  S. 
Michael  of  Dalgarenoc.  In  the  ancient  Taxation  of  the  Ecclesias- 
tical Benefices  in  the  Archdeaconry  of  Lothian,  found  in  the 
Treasury  of  Durham,  and  written  in  the  Keign  of  Edward  L, 
there  appears  among  the  Churches  belonging  to  Holyrood, 
"  Ecclesia  Sanctse  Marise  in  Campis."  [Priory  of  Coldingham 
(Surtees  Volume),  Append.,  cxii.]  This  was,  doubtless,  what  was 
at  a  later  period  the  Collegiate  Church  of  S.  Mary-in-the-Fields, 
on  the  site  of  which  the  College  now  stands,  and  which,  under 
the  popular  name  of  "  Kirk-of- Field,"  was  destined  to  be  so 
tragically  associated  with  the  History  of  some  future  Occupants 
of  Holyrood.  When  erected  into  a  Collegiate  Church,  certain 
Eights  appear  to  have  been  reserved  to  the  Canons  to  whom  it 
originally  belonged;  for,  in  1546,  we  find  Kobert,  Commendator 
of  Holyrood,  presenting  George  Ker  to  a  Prebend  in  it,  "  accord- 
ing to  the  force  and  form  of  the  Foundation." 

In  1570,  as  appears  from  the  Articles  presented  in  that  year 
in  the  General  Assembly,  against  Adam  Bothwell,  Bishop  of 
Orkney,  then  in  possession  of  the  Revenues  of  the  Abbey,  27 
Churches  still  belonged  to  the  great  Monastery  of  S.  David. 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYKOOD. 


147 


In  the  Abbey  Church,  there  were  various  Chapels  and  Altars 
Dedicated  to  different  Saints.  The  Lady  Chapel  was,  as  usual, 
in  the  Choir  at  the  back  of  the  High  Altar — [Father  Hay. — Lib. 
Cart.  Sanct.  Crucis,  p.  xxiv.]  In  the  Kecords  of  the  Burgh  of 
the  Canongate  in  1568,  however,  we  read  of  "  Our  Ladye  altar, 


INTERIOR  OF  THE  ABBEY  CHAPEL,  LOOKING  EAST. 

sumtyme  situat  within  the  Abbey  Kirk  of  Halierudhous  within 
the  Perroche  He  thereof,  to  which  the  'Ladie  land'  belonged" 
[Miscellany  of  Maitland  Club,  vol.  ii.,  p.  318];  and  we  read  of 
another  called  "  The  Abbot's  Chapel,"  to  which  two  silver 


Mn\  \SI-K  (ft 

hi-lon^ed.      Tlr  attached    to    !li«> 

M.I.,.!1  ,    II. MI   ,     h.-yond  111.'  ( 

uislu  .1   from 

n    h  \-  r,  and  mother  nilled  "tin  /.'.MI- 

init,,-  .7/,iw//.  r.»/.  iV.,  />.  24,       in   the  southern  ci 

adjoining  to  tb.  Altar,  were   iho^  of  s.    \ndiv\\ 

S,   Calh.-rini'.    Found. -d    hy    li  »       u'hton,    Bishop    of   Pun- 

Kri.i.  \\iio.  i.y  the  aa&ir   i ( 

of  s.  Thomas,  near  tii«'  \\  .  for  ti»»^  m  -oven 

I....T  moil,  \N!I.>  wen  t-»  i-^  ondei  UM  oontrol  of  tii<>  ch:i]>i:uns 

«»f  the  said  tw«»   Ms  who,  upon  .  :ui.l  i' 

were  to  put   on  "theii  -.  nn.l,  .U  Mass,  sit 

\lt.-n-  of  th€  Ohapel   In   khe  x»iil  Comvutual  I'luuvh. 
I'.-V.  .-,-     l:^;.    :'      ••    waa  ;«n    Altar   IViliratod    to    S. 

rib  ride  oft]  ;i  \ltar."     /w-' 

//n   «  There  was  also  an  Altar  Dedicated  t 

Mino   hy  th«>  Tailors  of  Edinburgh,  and  anoth,M-  to  SS.  (Vi^iii 

• 

whose  statues  were  place-  \Vearetold. ; 

were  erected  hy  the  Trades  ivium 

members,  who  had  perfom  \\\-  i\\  th«    i 

Land,  where,  we  are  ae  Ulani, 

Btautlard  of   tho  hold  Craftsmen  - 

eons  ,-vn  of  Battle,  before  being  suspended  over  t  he 

Altar  of 

I 'on.,     ra:.-d    K  :-.:  .-.>.:  .  ,  -:   ; '  -,-    i>rder.  with    innnni^rahl,^    priviK^es 
and  nnniunuu^  U)  tli.Mn  and  ih.rn-  BnoCeSSOn,      Henee  the  Altars 

and  Devices  upon  the  Sepulchral  Stones  that  pave  the  Aisle 

the  (Impel 

Badi  Ohaplata  had  -M  Merh-;  y^rix  ;   10  shilling  to  the 
Canons  of  said  Conventual  Church, 
Anniversary  *  <muly  s;  D  the  Choir  of  the 

fy  of  his  Death  yearly,  the  Placebo  and 

eisUd  in  the  frequent  rejxtt  niout  sung 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYROOD.  149 

with  a  Mass  in  the  same  place  on  the  Jay  following,  for  the 
repose  of  his  soul ;  16  Shillings  for  eight  wax  candles  to  light  up 
the  Choir,  Altars,  and  Tomb  of  the  Founder;  10  Shillings  for  6 
tapers  of  3  Ib.  weight  each,  to  bo  lighted  up  and  burnt  at  the 
Anniversary  of  the  said  Mass;  3  Shillings  for  ringing  the  great 
Bell,*  and  8  Pennies  for  ringing  the  small  or  Hand-Bells  through 
the  Towns  of  Edinburgh  and  Canongate;  2  Shillings  to  the 
Bearers  of  the  Torches  about  the  said  Altars  and  Founder's 
Tomb;  36  Shillings  for  the  support  of  4  wax  candles,  to  be 
burnt  on  the  said  Altars,  decently  adorned  during  the  first  and 
second  Vespers,  and  respective  Festivals  throughout  the  year  ; 
30  Shillings  to  be  given  to  30  poor  persons;  10  Shillings  for 
Bread  and  Wine  for  the  Celebration  of  Masses  at  the  aforesaid 
Altars  ;  20  Shillings  to  repair  the  Decorations  of  said  Altars ;  8 
Pounds  yearly  to  the  Abbot  and  Canons  of  the  said  Monastery, 
us  a  Feu-Farm  or  Quit-Rent  for  the  Lands  of  Lochflat ;  and  to 
7  poor  old  men,  and  their  successors,  to  be  lodged  in  an  Alms 
House  near  to  the  Abbey  of  Holyroodhouse  aforesaid,  20  Merks 
.1.  \Lili.  Curt.  Stut' i.  Crucis.  Cli'irt.  Mil ilrose.] 

THE    INVENTORY 

Of  fli,'    IV.-/////-///.S  inn!   <  h-inini'iil     »/'  tin'   ///'///    .l/l'ii  •  i,f  tin'  f'iii/i'r/i   o/'/A,- 

Mowutery  of  Hotyrood  (written  lii/A  October,  1183), 

Contained  16  Sets  of  Chasubles,  Albs,  Cassocks,  and  Stoles,  of  different 
cloths  !in<l  colours.  One  Set  was  called  ////•  /A,,////,»-.-S  being  a  Gift,  and 
that  tin'  /•;»//•/  of  Manckel  both  being  cloth  of  gold.  One  Alb  of 
ilk,  called  the  "  Alb  of  S.  Thomas  the  Martyr ;"  a  new  Cross  of  pure 
gold,  with  80  precious  stones,  having  a  piece  of  our  Lord's  Cross ;  an  old 
silver  Cross,  with  a  piece  of  our  Lord's  Cross  ;  a  large  silver  Cross,  with  a 
foot  weighing  180  ounces;  a  silver  Cross  for  the  Sacrament,  with  a  silver 
chain ;  one  Cross  of  crystal ;  three  Texts,  of  silver,  glass,  and  ivory ; 
Tabernacle  of  ivory  for  S.  Katherine's  Altar ;  a  silver  Arm  of  S.  Augustine, 
with  a  Bone  of  the  same ;  and  two  Rings  weighing  84  ounces.  One  silver 
PiC-liquary  for  S.  Katherine's  Altar,  with  a  Bone  of  the  same,  which  John 


l«ll««l  in  :i  p:irti<:uJ:ir  ln;u»H«r.      "Audivit, 

says  Bede,  "subito  in. are  MfWN  curapame  sonum.  ;;.tioues  exectori  pro 

animi-defunctii."  &c.     [Bedf,  HinL,  lib.  a  .  cujj.  '^3.1 


150  MONASTICON. 

Crunyan,  one  time  Vicar  of  Ure,  made.  Twelve  Chalices,  viz. — (1)  Of  the 
purest  gold,  with  a  Paten  weighing  46  ounces ;  (2)  a  Chalice  of  King  Robert ; 
(3)  a  Chalice  of  King  David;  (4)  a  Chalice  for  the  Altar  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin ;  (5)  a  Chalice  for  S.  Andrew's  Altar ;  (6)  a  Chalice  for  S.  Katherine's 
Altar ;  (7)  a  Chalice  for  the  Altar  of  the  Holy  Cross ;  (8)  a  Chalice  of  John 
Marschell ;  (9)  a  Chalice  of  John  Weddaill ;  (10)  another  common  Chalice ; 
(11)  a  Chalice  for  the  Parish  Altar;  (12)  a  silver  Chalice.  Two  ancient 
silver  Candlesticks;  four  new  silver  Candlesticks,  weighing  a  stone  and 
four  pounds  ;  two  silver  Candlesticks  for  the  Chapel  of  the  Abbot,  of  small 
weight ;  two  brass  Candlesticks,  and  two  iron  ones,  for  ferial  days. 

The  Pontifical  Robes  of  the  Abbot,  viz. — a  Mitre,  with  precious  Stones ; 
another  Mitre  of  Damask  Work,  white  colour ;  two  precious  Eramita ;  a  Pas- 
toral Staff;  three  Eings ;  a  Comb  of  ivory;  a  silk  Girdle ;  three  silk  Palls  for 
carrying  the  Cross,  or  Blessed  Sacrament ;  one  large  silver  Eucharist,  weigh- 
ing 160  oz. ;  besides  two  Bells,  with  precious  Stones ;  a  large  Cuppa  of  silver 
for  the  Sacrament ;  a  silver  Vessel  for  Holy  Water,  with  a  Hyssop ;  two 
silver  Thuribles,  with  a  silver  Censer  for  the  Incense  ;  two  Vials  of  Silver 
for  the  High  Altar.  There  are  two  Vials  of  Silver  for  the  Altar  of  the  Holy 
Cross ;  two  Vials  of  Silver  for  the  Altar  of  S.  Katherine ;  and  two  Vials  of 
Silver,  with  one  Text  of  Silver,  an  Ivory  Image  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary, 
with  a  silver  Foot,  and  a  crystal  Vial,  with  the  Oil  of  S.  Andrew,  for  the 
Altar  of  S.  Andrew.  Here  follows  an  Inventory  of  Copes,  viz. — One  new 
Cope  of  cloth  of  gold,  blauij  coloris ;  two  Copes  of  cloth  of  gold,  rubei 
colons,  with  two  silver  Ornaments,  and  one  with  precious  Stones,  and 
another  without  Stones ;  one  Cope,  de  cramaseto  deanrata,  with  gold  clasps, 
and  a  Beryl  on  the  breast ;  one  Cope,  de  cramaseto,  of  cloth  of  gold,  having 
a  Stag  with  the  Holy  Rood  on  the  hood ;  one  Cope,  de  cramaseto,  interlaced 
with  Roses  of  gold  thread;  three  Copes,  de  cramaseto  vahicie;  three  Copes 
of  Damask  Work,  white  colour;  three  Copes,  vahicie  blauij  coloris;  two 
purple  Copes ;  one  Cope,  de  camaloto,  with  another  of  the  same  colour ;  two 
Copes  of  cloth  of  gold,  called  Douglass  ;  three  Copes,  with  Chickens  woven 
thereupon,  of  gold  thread;  three  Black  Copes  for  the  Dead;  four  Green 
Copes ;  one  Green  Cope,  with  gold  Orphreys  ;  one  Purple  Cope,  with  dark 
Orphreys,  prohamera. — For  the  honour  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  one  large 
Eeparamentum — i.e.,  a  Stand  or  Set;  one  Cope,  with  Chasuble  and  two  Tunics ; 
three  Albs,  three  Amices,  white,  of  cloth  of  gold.  Twenty  Copes  of  Damask 
Work,  with  gold  Orphreys,  and  a  Set  of  other  colours,  to  remain  always  for 
the  use  of  the  said  Monastery.  [Bannatyne  Miscellany,  vol.  ii.,  p.  22.] 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYKOOD. 


151 


ABBOTS    OF    HOLYROOD. 

1.  ALWIN  was  the  first  Abbot  of  Holyrood,  who  Kesigned  the  Abbacy 

A.D.  1150 — [Chroii.  S.  Crucis] — and  is 
said  to  have  Died  A.D.  1155.  [Chalmers 
Caled.  Nich.  Hist.,  p.  335.]  He  was 
the  Confessor  of  King  David,  and  wrote 
a  Book  of  Homilies  and  Epistles.  He  is 
mentioned  in  the  Diplom.  de  Newbotle,  p. 
257. 

2.  OSBEKT.    Died  15  Kal.  December, 
1150.     [Chron.  8.  Cruets.]     He  wrote  the 
Acts   of  David,  the   Founder,   and  was 
Buried  before  the  High  Altar,  with  great 
pomp   and   solemnity.     He  Built  great 
part  of  the  Monastery,  and  enriched  the 
Church    with   Vestments    and    precious 
Vases,  and  Eelics,  enclosed  in  a  silver 
Casket.     He  also  gave  an  Image  of  God 
the  Father  of  solid  silver.     Osbert  is  not 
in  the  list  of  Abbots  in  the  old  Bitual 
Book.     [Fordun,  ad  an.] 

3.  WILLIAM  I.  succeeded  A.D.  1152. 
[Chron   S.    Crucis.]      He   is   a  frequent 
Witness  to  Charters  during  the  Keigns 
of  Malcolm  IV.  and  William  the  Lion. 
[Liber   de   Metros.,    Reyist.  Morav.,    (&c.~\ 
When   he    became   infirm   in  body,    he 
Vowed  to  God  that  he  would   say  the 

Psalter  every  day.  He  enclosed  the  Abbey  with  a  strong  Wall.  During  his 
rule,  Fergus,  then  Lord  Galloway,  became  a  Canon  of  the  Abbey,  and  both 
he  and  his  son,  Uchtred,  were  Benefactors.  W'dlelmm  abbas  Sancta  Crucis  is 
Wittness  to  a  Chartour  of  Bichard,  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  confirming  to 
Paslay  the  Churches  of  Innerwick  and  Ligerwood,  cum  pertinentiis. 
[Reyist.  de  Passelet,  p.  116.] 

4.  EGBERT  is  said. to  have  been  Abbot  about  the  time  of  William  the 
Lion.     He  Granted  to  the  Inhabitants  of  the  newly  projected  Burgh  of  the 
Canongate    various    Privileges,   which    were    Confirmed    with    additional 
Benefactions  by  David  II.,  Kobert  III.,  James  II.,  and  James  III.     Those 
Kings  Granted  to  the  Bailies  and  Community,  the  annuities  payable  by  the 
Burgh,  and  also  the  common  Moor  between  the  Lands  of  Broughton  on  the 
west,  and  the  Lands  of  Pilrig  on  the  east,  on  the  north  side  of  the  road  from 
Edinburgh  to  Leith. 

5.  JOHN  I.  was  Abbot  of  Holyrood  A.D.  1173.   He  is  Witness  to  a  Charter 


Appended  to  Notification  by  Abbot 
Alwyn,A.D.  1141,  Newbotle  Charters. 
The  Design  (Mr  H.  Laing  says)  is  a 
Church  seemingly  in  the  form  of  a 
Cross  of  equal  dimensions.  From 
the  centre  rises  a  Tower,  crowned 
with  a  Cupola.  This  cannot  be  sup- 
posed to  represent  the  Monastery, 
but  probably  may  indicate  the  style 
of  building  at  the  period. 


152  MONASTICON. 

of  Bichard,  Bischop  of  St.  Andrews,  granting  to  his  Canons  the  Church  of 
Hadington,  cum  terra  de  Clerkynton,  per  rectas  di visas.  His  Charter  is 
Confirmed  by  King  William,  testibus  Hugone  Episcopo  Sancti  Andreae, 
Jocelino  Episcopo  Glasguensi,  Andrea  Episcopo  Catanensi,  Johanne  Abbate 
de  Kelchowe. 

A.D.  1177.  Att  which  time  the  Monastery  of  Holyroodhouse  was  as 
yet  seated  in  the  Castle  of  Edinburgh,  and  their  Canons  were  in  possession 
of  the  Buildings  of  the  Nuns,  who  gave  to  the  Castle  the  name  of  "  Castellum 
Puellarum."  These  Nuns  had  been  thrust  out  of  the  Castle  by  S.  David, 
and  in  their  place  the  Canons  had  been  introduced  be  the  Pope's  Dispense, 
as  fitter  to  live  amongst  souldiers.  They  continued  in  the  Castle  dureing 
Malcolm  the  Fourth  his  Eeign ;  upon  which  account  we  have  severall 
Charters  of  that  King,  Granted  apud  Monasterium  Sanctae  Crucis  do 
Castello  Puellarum.  Under  King  William,  who  was  a  great  Benefactor  to 
Holyroodhouse,  I  fancie  the  Canons  retired  to  the  place  which  is  now  called 
the  Abbay ;  and  upon  the  first  Fundation  which  was  made  in  honour  of  the 
Holy  Cross,  they  retaind  their  first  denomination  of  Holyroodhouse. 
[Father  Hay.} 

A.D.  1180.  Alexius,  a  Sub-Deacon,  held  a  Council  in  the  Church  of 
the  Holy  Cross,  near  Edinburgh.  The  principal  business  of  this  Council 
was  the  long  disputed  Consecration  of  John  Scott,  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews. 
In  A.D.  1189,  the  first  year  of  the  Keign  of  Kichard  I.  of  England,  an 
Assembly  of  the  Scottish  Bishops,  Kectors  of  Churches,  Nobility,  and 
Barons,  was  held  in  the  Monastery  of  Holyrood.  Richard,  who  had  invited 
William  the  Lion  to  his  Court  at  Canterbury,  had  recognised  the  complete 
independence  of  Scotland,  fixed  the  boundaries  of  the  two  Kingdoms  as  they 
were  before  the  captivity  of  the  Scottish  King,  and  Granted  him  full 
possession  of  all  his  fees  in  the  Earldom  of  Huntingdon!  and  elsewhere,  on 
the  same  conditions  as  formerly.  It  was  agreed  in  this  National  Convention, 
that  William  the  Lion  was  to  pay  10,000  Merks  for  this  restitution — a  sum 
supposed  to  be  equivalent  to  £100,000  Sterling  of  the  present  day.  Father 
Hay,  however,  states  that  the  stipulated  sum  was  only  5000  Merks. 

6.  WILLIAM  I.  was  Abbot  A.D.  1206.     During  his  time,  John,  Bishop 
of  Candida  Casa,  Resigned  his  Episcopate,  and  became  one  of  the  Canons. 
He  was  Buried  in  the  Chapter  House,  and  a  Stone,  recording  his  name  and 
dignity,  was  placed  on  his  Grave.     [Fordun.] 

7.  WALTER,  Prior  of  Inchcolm,  succeeded  A.D.  1210 ;  and  Died  2  Ides 
January,  A.D.  1217.     He  was  a  man  renowned  for  learning  and  piety,  and 
wrote  several  small  Works. 

8.  WILLIAM  II.  was  the  next  Abbot,  of  whom  nothing  is  recorded  but 
his  Retirement. 

9.  WILLIAM  HI.,  son  of  Owin,  succeeded.   On  account  of  his  old  age  and 
infirmities,  he  Resigned  office  A.D.  1227,  and  entered  as  a  Hermit  into  the 
Island  of  Inchkeith.     But  after  being  there  nine  weeks,  he  returned  to 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYEOOD.  158 

Holyrood  as  a  private  Monk,  and  Died  soon  after.  William,  Abbot  of  Edin- 
burgh, occurs  in  a  Charter  of  Alexander  II.,  Confirming  the  Lands  of  New- 
botle,  24th  June,  1224. 

10.  HELIAS  L,  or  ELIAS,  succeeded.     He  was  the  son  of  Nicholas,  a 
Priest,— pleasant,  devout,  and  affable.    He  was  Buried  in  S.  Mary's  Chapel, 
behind  the  High  Altar.     He  drained  the  marshes  which  surrounded  the 
Abbey,  and  Built  a  Back  Wall  round  the  Cemetery.     [Father  Hay.] 

11.  HENRY  was  probably  the  next  Abbot,  who  was  Nominated  Bishop 
of  Galloway  A.D.  1253,  but  not  Consecrated  till  1255. 

12.  EALF,  or  EADULPH,  was  appointed  Abbot  next.     He  is  mentioned  in 
a  Gift  of  Land  at  Pittendreich  to  the  Monks  of  Newbotle. 

13.  ADAM,  an  adherent  of  the  English  Party,  though  zealous  Scotch 
Writers  have  claimed  him  as  a  sufferer  in  the  cause  of  Bruce,  and  sing  his 

praises.  He  did  homage  to  Edward  I.  on  the  8th  July, 
1291 ;  and,  in  the  following  month,  he  was  employed 
to  examine  the  National  Eecords  kept  in  Edinburgh 
Castle.  In  August,  1296,  Adam  abbe  de  Seinte  Croiz  de 
Edenburnh  et  le  couent  de  mesme  le  hi,  again  did  homage  to 
Edward  I.  It  was  probably  in  his  favour  that  the  Orders 
were  Granted  for  restitution  of  the  Abbey  Lands,  2nd 
September,  1296 ;  and  of  certain  Corns  and  Cattle  taken 
from  the  Lands  of  the  Carse,  for  the  supply  of  Edinburgh 
and  Stirling  Castles,  and  the  Peel  of  Linlithgow,  8th 
April,  1310.  Dempster  writes  Alexander  for  Adam. 

14.  HELIAS   H.,  or  ELIAS,   must   have    been  the 
next  Abbot.     He  is  mentioned  in  a  Deed  of  William 
e  uPPer  com-  Lamberton,   Bishop   of  St.  Andrews,  A.D.    1316,  who 
partment,   the    Holy  .,,    n  '      .     ,,  XT     ',    ,, 

Face  circled  with  mac^e  a  Composition  with  Gervase,  Abbot  of  Newbotle, 
nimbus,  is  in  the  cen-  aoout  some  Salt  Pans.  Done  at  Berwick,  16th  July, 
tre  of  a  Cross.  Below,  Holyrood,  in  common  with  Melrose  and  Dryburgh,  felt 
is  an  Abbot,  withCro-  the  rage  of  the  disappointed  Army  of  Edward  II.,  after 
zier,  kneeling  before  his  unsuccessful  Invasion  in  1322. 
an  Altar,  upon  which  15.  SYMON  was  Abbot  of  Holyrood  on  the  Vigil 

s  set  a  Chalice.    A.D.  of  s<  Barnabas,  A.D.  1326.     Symon  de  Wedale,   pro- 
Chp.H.JVestm.   bably  the  game  man>  was  Abbot  at  the  game  period. 

On  the  8th  of  March  that  year,  King  Eobert  Bruce,  who  had  then  glori- 
ously achieved  the  independence  of  Scotland,  held  a  Parliament  in  the 
Abbey,  in  which  was  ratified  a  concord  between  Eandolph,  Earl  of  Moray, 
afterwards  Eegent,  and  Sir  William  Oliphant,  in  connexion  with  the 
forfeiture  of  the  Lands  of  William  de  Monte  Alto,  and  it  is  probable  that  the 
Parliaments  of  the  28th  of  February  and  the  17th  of  March,  1327,  assembled 
also  in  the  Abbey.  A  Parliament  was  held  at  Holyrood  on  the  10th  of 
February,  1333-4,  when  Edward  Baliol  rendered  homage  to  King  Edward 
III.  of  England,  as  Superior  Lord  of  Scotland.  On  the  12th,  the  Kingdom 
was  dismembered,  and  the  National  Liberties  surrendered,  by  the  ratifica- 
VOL.  i.  u 


154 


MONASTICON. 


tion  of  a  Treaty  between  Baliol  and  Edward,  by  which  the  former  became 
bound  to  serve  with  his  forces  in  the  English  wars. 

16.  JOHN  II.  succeeded.   He  occurs  as  a  Witness  to  three  Charters,  1338, 
viz.,  William  de  Creighton,  William  de  Livingstone,  and  Henry  de  Brade. 

17.  BAETHOLOMEW  was  Abbot  in  1342. 

18.  THOMAS-.     Venerabilis  in  Christo  pater  dominus  Thomas  Dei  gratia 
abbas  Sanctae  Crncis  de  Edinburgh,  is  Witness  to  a  Charter  of  William  de 
Douglas  dominus  ejusdem,  Jacobo  de  Sandilandys  et  dominae  Elionorae  de 
Bruys,  of  the  Landis  of  Wester  Caldour.     The  .same  Thomas  abbas  Sanctae 
Crucis  is  Witness  to  a  Charter  of  Confirmation  made  by  David  films  Walteri, 
"  Deo  et  sancto  Servano  et  vicario  ecclesiae  de  Kynhale  de  dimidia  parte  totius 
nemoris  de  Akydone,"  Granted  to  the  said  Vicar  by  his  mother.   His  Charter 
is  Dated  at  Edinburgh,  "  anno  gratiae  1347  in  festo  beati  Thomae  apostoli." 

On  the  8th  of  May,  1366,  a  Council  was  held  at  Holyrood,  in  which  the 
Scottish  Nobles  indignantly  disclaimed  all  the  pretensions  of  the  English 
King  to  the  Sovereignty  of  Scotland,  and  sanctioned  an  Assessment  for  the 
annual  payments  of  the  ransom  of  David  II.  Nothing  important  occurs  in 
the  History  of  the  Monastery  till  1371,  when  David  II.  Died  in  the  Castle  of 
Edinburgh,  and  was  Buried  near  the  High  Altar  in  the  Abbey  Church.  In 
1372,  Edward  III.  Granted  a  safe  conduct  to  certain  persons  who  went  from 
Scotland  to  Flanders,  to  provide  a  Stone  for  the  Tomb  of  David  II. 

19.  JOHN  III.  was  Abbot  llth  January,  1372. 
John  of  Gaunt,  Duke  of  Lancaster,  the  fourth  son 
of  Edward  III.  by  Lady  Blanch,  younger  daughter 
and  heiress  of  Henry  Plantagenet,  Duke  of  Lan- 
caster, grandson  of  Edmund,  second  son  of  Henry 
III.,  was  hospitably  entertained  in  Holyrood  in 
1381,  when  compelled  to  flee  from  his  enemies  in 
England. 

20.  DAVID  was  Abbot  18th  January,  the  13th 
year  of  the  Eeign  of  Eobert  II.     The  Abbey  was 
burnt  in  1385  by  Kichard  II.,  when  he  invaded 
Scotland,  and  encamped  at  Kestalrig ;  but  it  was 
soon  repaired. 

21.  Dene  JOHN  IV.  of  Leith  was  Abbot  the 
8th  May,  1886.     The  last  transaction  in  which 
he  appears,  is  the  Indenture  of  lease  of  the  Canon- 
Attached  to  a  Charter  of  mills  to  the  Burgh   of  Edinburgh,    Dated   12th 

Abbot  John  in  1377,  to  Lord   September,  1423.     John,  Abbot  of  Holyrudhouse, 

James  Douglas,  of  the  Lands  is    mentioned    in    a    Donation   made    by  David 

Fleming,  of  Biggar,  of  Ten  Pound  made  to  that 

Abbay,  1392,  and  in  a  Confirmation  of  20  Marks  Sterling  Granted  to  the 
said  Abbay  by  the  said  David,  and  Confirmed  by  the  King,  1399.  I  take 
him  to  have  bin  John  of  Leith,  who  obtained  a  Confirmation  of  the  Original 
Charter  of  the  Fundation  from  King  Eobert  the  3d. 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYBOOD. 


155 


John,  Abbot  of  Halyrudhouse,  Sanctae  Crucis  de  Edinburgh,  is  Witness 
to  a  Charter  of  Kobert,  Duke  of  Albany,  at  Perth,  1415,  gubernat.  an.  10,  die 
15  Junij.  He  Grants  thereby  to  John,  Earl  of  Buchan,  the  Barony  of  Kyn- 
edward,  upon  the  resignation  of  Euphemia  Lesly,  daughter  to  Alexander 
Lesly,  Earl  of  Kosse,  designed  carissima  neptis  nostra.  [Father  Hay.] 

Henry  IV.  spared  the  Monastery  in  1400,  on  account  of  the  kindness 
of  the  Abbot  and  Canons  to  John  of  Gaunt,  his  father,  declaring  that  he 
would  allow  no  violence  to  be  inflicted  on  an  Edifice  which  his  feelings  as  a 
son  enjoined  him  to  respect. 

A.D.  1429.  A  singular  spectacle  was  witnessed  in  the  Abbey  Church. 
Alexander,  Earl  of  Koss  and  Lord  of  the  Isles,  who  had  enraged  James  I. 
by  ravaging  the  Crown  Lands  near  Inverness,  and  burning  that  Town,  and 
whom  the  King  had  issued  stringent  orders  to  apprehend,  suddenly  appeared 
in  the  Church,  on  the  Eve  of  a  solemn  Festival,  in  presence  of  the  King, 
Queen,  and  Court.  He  was  dressed  only  in  his  shirt  and  drawers,  and 
holding  a  naked  sword  by  the  point  in  his  hand,  he  fell  on  his  knees  and 
implored  the  Koyal  clemency.  His  life  was  spared,  and  he  was  committed 
prisoner  to  Tantallon  Castle,  under  the  charge  of  the  Earl  of  Angus. 

On  16fch  October,  1430,  the  Queen  of  James  I.  was  delivered  of  twin 
Princes  in  the  Abbey,  the  elder  of  whom,  Alexander,  died  in  infancy.  The 
younger  was  James,  who  succeeded  his  father. 

22.  PATRICK  was  Abbot  5th  Septem- 
ber, A.D.  1435.  On  the  25th  of  March, 
1436-7,  James  II.,  who  had  been  Born  in 
the  Abbey,  and  was  then  little  more  than 
six  years  old,  was  conveyed  from  Edin- 
burgh Castle  to  the  Church  of  Holyrood, 
and  Crowned  with  great  magnificence. 

Another  high  Ceremony  was  per- 
formed in  the  same  place  in  July,  1449, 
when  Mary,  daughter  of  the  Duke  of 
Gueldres,  and  Queen  of  James  II.,  was 
Crowned.  The  Queen  was  attended  by 
the  Lord  de  Vere  of  Holland,  who  was 
appointed  by  Philip  the*  Good  of  Bur- 
gundy to  conduct  his  kinswoman  to  Scot- 
land ;  and  when  she  landed  at  Leith,  she 
was  received  by  many  of  the  Nobility  } 
and  by  a  large  concourse  of  all  ranks, 
who  seemed  almost  Barbarians  to  the 
polished  Burgundians.  The  Queen, 
mounted  on  horseback  behind  the  Lord 
de  Vere,  rode  to  Edinburgh,  and  was 


SS.  Mary  and  Mary  Magdalene  are 
on  either  side  of  the  Crucifixion.  The 


Initials  "  I.  R."  stand  for  Jacobus  /.,  lodged    in    the    Convent    of    the    Grey 
Rex.  The  Virgin  and  Child  are  below.  Friars.    In  the  course  of  a  week  after  her 


156 


MONASTICON. 


arrival,  her  Nuptials  and  Coronation  were  Celebrated  in  the  Abbey  Church, 
with  all  the  pomp  and  ceremony  which  the  rude  taste  and  circumscribed 
means  of  the  Country  would  permit.  [Lesl.  Hist.] 

23.  JAMES  was  Abbot  26th  April,  1450.     A.D.  1460,  ten  years  after- 
wards, the  body  of  King  James  II.  was  Buried  within  the  Eoyal  Vault. 
He  was  Killed  by  the  bursting  of  a  cannon  at  the  siege  of  Koxburgh  Castle, 
August  3,  in  the  30th  year  of  his  age,  and  23rd  of  his  Eeign. 

24.  ARCHIBALD  CRAWFURD  was  the  next  Abbot,  A.D.  1457.     [Eotul.  Scot. 
He  is  called  Andrew,  by  mistake  of  the  Kecorder,  in  1460.    Vol.  ii.,  p.  400, «.] 
He  was  a  son  of  Sir  William  Crawfurd,  of  Haining,  in  the  Barony  of 
Maxwell :  he  was  first  Prior  of  Halyrudhouse,  then  Abbot.     In  1459,  he  was 
one  of  the  Commissioners  sent  to  treat  with  the  English  at  Coventry  about 
the  prorogation  of  a  truce.     In  1474,  a  Treaty  being  set  on  foot,  in  virtue  of 
a  Marriage  betwixt  James,  Duke  of  Kothesay,  Earle  of  Carrik,  and  Lord 
Cunningham,  and  Princess  Cecile,  3d  daughter  of  King  Edward  the  4th  of 

England,  Abbot  Crawfurd  was  one  of  the  Com- 
missioners appointed  for  Scotland.  In  1474, 
he  was  made  Lord  High  Thresaurer.  In  1476, 
the  last  day  of  January,  he  is  impowrd  by  King 
James  to  receive,  in  the  Church  of  S.  Giles  of 
Edinburgh,  the  3rd  day  of  February  next,  the 
soume  of  2000  Marks,  Inglish  Money,  owing  by 
King  Edward  the  same  day,  as  a  part  of  pay- 
ment of  20,000  Marks,  because  of  Matrimony 
between  his  only  son  and  heir  and  Princess 
Cecile.  He  Died  in  the  beginning  of  1483,  and 
was  succeeded  by  Eobert  Ballantin,  of  the  House 
of  Achinoul,  a  very  worthy  man.  He  built  the 
Abbay  Church  from  the  ground.  [Father  Hay.~\ 

He  built  the  Abbey  Church  that  now  stands, 
about  1460,  or  thereby.  Upon  it  we  see  his 
Arms  ingraven  above  thirty  times.  \Cra\rfurd.~\ 

He  added  the  Buttresses  on  the  Walls  of  the 
north  and  south  Aisles,  and  probably  built  the 


Appended  to  a  Deed  of  1477, 
in  the  Gen.  Reg.  House,  Edin. 


rich  Doorway  which  opens  into  the  north  Aisle. 

King  James  III.  passed  much  of  his  time  at  the  Abbey ;  and,  on  the 
13th  July,  1469,  his  Nuptials  with  Margaret  of  Denmark  were  Celebrated  in 
the  Abbey  Church,  he  himself  "being  of  the  aige  of  ticentie  yeires,  .  .  . 
and  the  gentlevoman  being  bot  twel/."  For  all  that,  she  had  a  child  that 
same  year.  The  Orkney  and  Shetland  Islands  were  a  part  of  her  dowry, 
and,  on  her  Marriage,  were  made  over  to  Scotland  for  ever. 

25.  EGBERT  BELLENDEN,  whose  virtues  are  Celebrated  by  his  namesake, 
the  Archdean  of  Moray,  and  Translator  of  Boece.  He  was  one  of  the  Com- 
missioners for  settling  a  truce  with  England,  1486  ;  and  he  was  still  Abbot, 
13th  September,  1498. 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYKOOD.  157 

Dean  Kobert  Ballentyn  was  sixteen  years  Abbat  of  Holyroodhouse, 
according  to  the  traductor  of  Boetius.  He  delt  ilke  owlk  four  bowis  of  wheit, 
and  fortie  shilling  of  silver  amang  pure  houshaldaris,  and  indigent  pepil ;  he 
brocht  hame  the  gret  bellis,  the  gret  brasin  fownt,*  twintie  fowr  capis  of 
gold  and  silk ;  he  maid  ane  chalice  of  fine  gold,  ane  eucharist,  with  sindry 
chalicis  of  silver ;  he  theikkit  the  kirk  with  leid ;  he  biggit  ane  brig  of  Leith, 
ane  othir  ouir  Glide ;  with  mony  othir  gude  workis,  qwhilkis  ware  ouir 
prolixt  to  schaw.  Nochttheles  he  wes  sa  invyit  be  sindry  othir  prelatis, 
becaus  he  was  not  gevin  to  lust  and  insolence,  eftir  thair  maner,  that  he  left 
the  Abbay,  and  deit  ane  Chartour-monk.  [Bellenden,  xii.,  c.  16.]  He  was 
Abbot  the  18th  July,  1493. 

In  his  time,  the  Abbey  Church  was  the  scene  of  a  high  Ceremonial, 
when  the  Papal  Legate  and  the  Abbot  of  Dunfermline,  amid  a  crowd  of 
Scottish  Nobles,  in  name  of  Pope  Julius  II.,  presented  King  James  IV.  with 
a  purple  Crown  ornamented  with  golden  flowers,  and  a  Sword,  of  which  the 
hilt  and  sheath  were  rich  with  gold  and  precious  stones,  and  which,  under 
the  name  of  the  "  Sword  of  State,"  is  still  preserved  among  the  Eegalia  of 
Scotland,  in  the  Castle  of  Edinburgh.  [Lesl.  Hist.] 

In  the  year  1493,  Abbot  Bellenden  Founded  a  Chapel  in  North  Leith, 
Dedicated  to  S.  Ninian,  who  appears  to  have  been  rather  a  Favourite  in 
Scotland.  North  Leith  at  that  time  was  rising  into  some  importance,  and 
becoming  populous  ;  moreover,  the  greater  portion  of  the  Land  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Estuary  of  the  Water  of  Leith,  called  Eudeside,  belonged  to  the 
Abbey,  a  thing  which  would  have  some  share  in  its  prosperity,  as  the 
Church  Estates  were  better  managed,  and  their  tenants  greatly  more  com- 
fortable in  their  worldly  circumstances,  than  those  of  Lay  Landlords.  The 
causes  moving  the  Abbot  to  build  this  Chapel,  independent  of  the  spiritual 
wants  of  the  people,  were  manifold,  as  set  forth  in  the  Charter  of  Erection : 
— "  To  the  honour  of  God,  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  S.  Ninian,  and  for  the 
salvation  of  the  souls  of  the  late  King  James  III.,  and  Margaret,  his  Con- 
sort; for  the  prosperity  of  the  reigning  King  James  IV.,  and  for  the 
salvation  of  the  souls  of  their  Predecessors  and  Successors;  for  the  Founder's 
own  soul,  and  those  of  his  parents ;  for  the  souls  of  the  Abbots,  his  Prede- 

*  This  is  probably  the  Font  which  Sir  Richard  Lee,  Captain  of  Pioneers  in  the 
Hertford  Invasion,  carried  off  "  in  the  tumult  of  the  conflagration,"  and  which  he 
presented  to  the  Church  of  S.  Alban,  with  the  magniloquent  Inscription  engraved  on 
it,  which  Camdeii  lias  preserved.  The  Scottish  Font  is  made  most  unpatriotically  to 
say  [luckily  in  Latin] — "  When  Leith,  an  important  Town  in  Scotland,  and  Edin- 
burgh, the  capital  City  of  the  Scots,  were  in  flames,  Sir  Richard  Lee,  Knight,  rescued 
me  from  the  flames,  and  brought  me  to  England.  In  gratitude  to  him  for  his  kind- 
ness, I,  who  hitherto  served  only  at  the  Baptism  of  the  children  of  Kings,  do  now 
most  willingly  offer  the  same  service  even  to  the  meanest  of  the  English  Nation.  Lee, 
the  Conqueror,  hath  so  commanded.  Farewell.  A.D.  1543,  and  36th  of  the  Reign  of 
Henry  VIII." — This  Font  was  afterwards  conquered  by  the  Roundheads,  and  sold  as 
old  metal. 


158  MONASTICON. 

cessors  and  Successors ;  for  the  souls  of  all  those  to  whom  he  was  any  ways 
in  debt,  or  had  any  way  offended,  and  for  the  souls  of  all  the  faithful  and 
deceased  Saints."  Some  idea  is  afforded  of  the  laxity  which  had  crept  into 
the  morals  of  the  Clergy  at  this  time  by  another  clause  of  the  Charter  of 
this  Chapel,  quoted  as  showing  how  ripe  they  were  for  the  "  Keformation," 
which  so  speedily  overtook  them : — "  If  either  of  the  aforesaid  Chaplains  keep 
a  lass  or  concubine  in  an  open  and  notorious  manner,  he  shall  be  degraded." 
In  1606,  an  Act  of  Parliament  constituted  this  Chapel  the  Parish  Kirk  of 
North  Leith ;  but  having  become  far  too  small  for  that  purpose,  a  new  and 
commodious  Church  was  erected,  and,  in  1826,  Abbot  Ballantyne's  Chapel 
was  transformed  into  a  Victual  Granary.  [Courtey's  Holyrood.] 

26.  GEORGE  CRICHTOUN  was  Abbot  A.D.  1515,  and  Lord  Privy  Seal.     He 
was  promoted  to  the  See  of  Dunkeld  A.D.  1522. 

27.  WILLIAM  DOUGLAS,  Prior  of  Coldingham,  was  the  next  Abbot  of 
Holyrood.     Died  1528. 

28.  EGBERT  CAIRNCROSS,  Provost  of  the  Collegiate  Church  of  Corstor- 
phin,  and  Chaplain  to  King  James  V.;  High  Treasurer,  September,  1528; 
soon  after  Abbot  of  Holyrood.     He  was  turned  out  of  the  Treasurer's  Office 
in  the  beginning  of  the  year  1529  ;  recovered  it,  1537  ;  again  lost  the  Office, 
24th  March,  1538.     In  1538  or  1539,  he  Vacated  his  Abbey  of  Holyrood,  on 
being  Appointed  to  the  Bishoprick  of  Ross,  which  he  held,  in  conjunction 
with  the  Abbacy  of  Feme,  till  his  death,  31st  November,  1545.     Buchanan 
gives  him  a  very  bad  Certificate. 

In  1537,  6  Id.  Jul.,  Magdalen,  daughter  of  Francis  I.  of  France,  Died 
enceinte  at  the  early  age  of  16,  and  was  Buried  within  the  Eoyal  Vault,  near 
to  King  James  II.  The  National  grief  was  intense.  James  V.,  her 
husband,  Died  at  Falkland,  14th  December,  1542,  and  was  Buried  in  the 
same  Tomb. 

There  is  preserved  in  the  Advocates'  Library,  a  MS.  containing  an 
authentic  Account  of  a  Search  made  in  the  Vault  by  authorised  persons, 
about  five  years  prior  to  the  sacrilegious  violation  of  its  mouldering  Relics 
of  Scottish  Royalty.  The  Narrative  of  the  Inquisition  is  as  follows  : — 

Upon  ye  xxiv  of  January  MDCLXXXIIL,  by  procurement  of  ye  Bischop 
of  Dumblayne,  I  went  into  ane  vault  in  ye  south-east  corner  of  ye  Abbey 
Church  of  Halyrudehouse,  and  yr.  were  present,  ye  Lord  Strathnavar  and  E. 
Forfare,  Mr.  Robert  Scott,  minister  of  ye  Abbey,  ye  Bishop  of  Dumblayn, 
and  some  uthers.  Wee  viewed  ye  body  of  King  James  ye  Fyft  of  Scotland. 
It  lyeth  within  ane  wodden  coffin,  and  is  coveret  wyth  ane  lead  coffin. 
There  seemed  to  be  haire  upon  ye  head  still.  The  body  was  two  lengths  of 
my  staf,  with  two  inches  more,  that  is  twae  inches  and  mare  above  twae 
Scots  elne  ;  for  I  measured  the  staf  with  ane  elnwand  efterward. 

The  body  was  coloured  black  with  ye  balsom  that  preserved  it,  which 
was  lyke  melted  pitch.  The  Earl  of  Forfare  tooke  the  measure  with  his  staf 
lykeways.  There  was  plates  of  lead,  in  several  long  pieces,  louse  upon  and 
about  the  coffin,  which  carried  the  following  inscription,  as  I  took  it  from 
before  the  bishop  and  noblemen  in  ye  isle  of  ye  church : — 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYEOOD. 


159 


ILLVSTRIS  SCOTORVM  REX  JACOBVS  EJVS  NOMINIS  V.  ETATIS 

SUE  ANNO  XXXI  REGNI  VEEO  XXX  MORTEM  OBIIT  IN 
PAL  AGIO    DE    FALKLAND   14   DECEMBRIS   ANNO    DNI.    MDXLII 

cvjvs  CORPVS  me  TRADITVM  EST  SEPVLTVRE. 

Next  ye  south  wall,  in  a  smaller  arch,  lay  a  shorter  coffin,  with  ye 
teeth  in  ye  skull. 

To  the  little  coffin  in  the  narrow  arch,  seemeth  to  belong  this  inscrip- 
tion made  out  of  long  pieces  of  lead  in  the  Saxon  character  :  — 


|Jrim0-gemia 


Sftotia,  Sponsa  fatobi 

A.D.    MDXXXVII.    OBIIT. 


There  was  ane  piece  of  a  lead  crown,  upon  the  syde  of  whilk  I  saw  two 
floor  de  leuces  gilded  ;  and  upon  ye  north  side  of  ye  coffin  lay  two  children, 
none  of  the  coffins  a  full  elne  long,  and  one  of  them  lying  within  ane  wod 
chest,  the  other  only  the  lead  coffin. 

Upon  ye  south  syde,  next  the  King's  body,  lay  ane  gret  coffin  of  lead, 
with  the  body  in  it.  The  muscles  of  the  thigh  seemed  to  be  entire  ;  the 
body  not  so  long  as  King  James  the  Fyfth,  and  ye  balsam  stagnating  in  sum 
quantity  at  ye  foote  of  ye  coffin  ;  there  appeared  no  inscription  upon  ye  coffin. 
And  at  ye  east  syde  of  the  vaults  which  was  at  ye  feet  of  ye  other 
coffins,  lay  a  coffin  with  the  skull  sawen  in  two,  and  ane  inscription  in  small 
letters,  gilded  upon  a  square  of  ye  lead  coffin,  making  it  to  be  ye  bodye  of 
Dame  Jane  Stewart,  Countesse  of  Aryyle,  MDLXXXV,  or  thereby,  for  I  do  not 
well  remember  ye  yeare.  The  largest  coffin,  I  suld  suppose  to  be  that  of 
Lord  Darnley's,  and  the  short  coffin,  Queene  Magdalene's. 

29.  EGBERT,  the  "natural"  son  of 
James  V.,  by  Eupham  Elphinstone,  had  a 
Grant  of  the  Abbacy  while  yet  seven 
years  of  age.  He  joined  the  "Eeforma- 
tion  "  in  1559  ;  Married  in  1561  ;  had  a 
Grant  from  his  sister,  Queen  Mary,  of 
the  Crown  Lands  of  Orkney  and  Zetland, 
1565  ;  a  large  Grant  out  of  the  Queen's 
third  of  the  Abbacy  of  Holyrood,  1566. 
In  1569,  he  exchanged  his  Abbacy  with 
Adam,  Bishop  of  Orkney,  for  the  Tempo- 
ralities of  that  Bishoprick  ;  and  his  Lands 
in  Orkney  and  Zetland  were  erected  into 
an  Earldom  ^in  his  favour,  28th  October, 
1581. 

Spottiswoode,  in  the  year  1567,  says  : 
—  Some  two  days  after  the  Queen  was 
committed  to  Lough-Leven,  the  Earle  of 
Glencairne,  with  his  domesticks,  demo- 
lished the  Altare  of  Holyroodhouse,  break- 
ing the  pictures  and  defaceing  the  Orna- 
Matrix  in  the  Antiq.  Society,  Edin.  ments  within  the  same. 


160  MONASTICON. 

30.  ADAM  BOTHWELL,  who  acquired  the  Abbacy  of  Holyrood  by  this 
strange  transaction,  did  not  find  his  new  Benefice  in  a  less  stormy  position 
than  his  old  Orcadian  territory.  His  life  and  character  form  an  important 
part  of  the  History  of  that  troubled  period.  Of  the  Articles  presented 
against  him  in  the  General  Assembly,  1570,  the  fifth  was : — 

All  the  said  kirkis  (the  twenty-seven  churches  of  the  Abbey),  for  the 
maist  part,  wherein  Christis  evangell  may  be  preachit,  are  decayit,  and  made, 
some  sheep-falds,  and  some  sa  ruinous  that  nane  dare  enter  into  them  for 
fear  of  falling,  specially  Halyrudhous ;  althocht  the  Bischop  of  Sanct 
Andrews,  in  time  of  Papistry,  sequestrat  the  hail  rentis  of  the  said  Abbacy, 
becaus  only  the  glassen  windows  war  not  halden  up  and  repairit.  To  which 
article  the  Bishop  answered, — "  He  wes  bot  of  late  come  to  the  benefice,  and 
the  maist  part  of  thir  kirkis  war  pullit  doun  be  sum  greedie  personis  at  the 
first  beginning  of  the  Eeformation,  quhilk  hath  never  been  helpit  or  repairit 
sensyne ;  and  few  of  thame  may  be  repairit  be  his  small  portion  of  the 
living ;  but  specially  the  Abbay  kirk  of  Halyrudhous,  quhilk  hath  been  thir 
twintie  yeris  bygane  ruinous  through  decay  of  twa  principal  pillars,  sa  that 
nane  war  assurit  under  it ;  and  twa  thousand  pounds  bestowit  upon  it  wald 
not  be  sufficient  to  ease  men  to  the  hearing  of  the  word  and  ministration  of 
Sacraments.  Bot  with  thair  consent,  and  help  of  ane  established  authoritie, 
he  wes  purposed  to  provide  the  means  that  the  superfluous  ruinous  pairts,  to 
wit  the  queir  and  croce  kirk,  micht  be  disposed  be  faithfull  men  to  repaire 
the  remanent  sufficently  ;  and  that  he  had  alsua  repairit  the  kirks  of  Sanct 
Cuthbert  and  Libberton,  that  thai  war  not  in  sa  good  case  thir  twintie  yeris 
bygane.  And  farder,  that  ther  wes  ane  order  to  be  usit  for  reparation  of 
kirkis,  whereunto  the  parochiners  war  oblidged  as  weil  as  he ;  and  whan 
thai  concurrit,  his  support  suld  not  be  inlaiking."  [The  Book  of  the  Kirk, 
ad  an.] 

The  Bishop  appears  to  have  Kesigned  his  Abbacy  in  favour  of  his  son 
before  1581.  He  Died  in  1593. 

Adam  Bothwell,  Bishop  of  Orkney,  became  Abbot  of  Holyrudehouse 
after  Eobert  Steward,  base  son  to  King  James  the  Fift  by  Euphem  Elphin- 
stone,  who  was  created  Earle  of  Orkeney  and  Lord  Shetland  by  King  James 
the  Sixth,  1581.  This  Adam  was  a  younger  brother  to  Sir  Kichard  Both- 
well,  Provost  of  Edinbrugh  in  Queen  Maries  time,  and  a  second  sone  to  Sir 
Francis  Bothwell,  Lord  of  the  Session  in  King  James  the  Fyfts  time,  and 
was  begotten  upon  Anna  Livingstone,  daughter  to  the  Lord  Livingstone. 
He  married  Margaret  Murray,  and  begote  upon  her  John,  Francis,  William, 
and  George  Bothwells,  and  a  daughter  named  Anna,  who,  by  her  nurses 
deceit,  fell  with  child  to  a  son  of  the  Earle  of  Mar.  Many  offenses  were 
layd  to  his  charge,  as  symoniacall  exchange  of  his  Bishoprike  of  Orkney  with 
Holyrudehouse  ;  his  retaining  the  title  of  Bishop,  and  the  name  of  reverend 
father  in  God ;  his  desisting  from  preaching ;  his  accepting  of  a  place  of  a 
Lord  of  the  Session.  He  was  deprived  of  all  function  in  the  Ministry  for 
solemnizing  the  Marriage  betwixt  the  Queen  and  the  Earle  of  Bothwell ;  he 
was  also  delated  for  occupying  a  room  of  a  Lord  of  the  Session ;  and,  in  the 
year  1568,  it  was  ordained  in  a  generall  meeting,  att  some  convenient  time 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYKOOD.  161 

he  should  confess,  upon  the  Lord's  day,  att  the  end  of  the  sermon,  in  the 
Kirk  of  Holyrudehouse,  his  offense  for  solemnising  the  Marriage  between  the 
Queen  and  the  Earle  of  Bothwell.  Mr.  Knox,  Craig,  and  Lindsey,  were 
appointed,  1570,  to  try  his  answers  in  the  Generall  Assembly. 

This  Bishop  is  Interred  in  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Cross  of  Edinburgh; 
his  Epitaph  is  ingraven  upon  a  rough  Stone,  which  is  seen  upon  the 
second  Pillar  on  the  south  side — ["Upon  the  front  of  the  third  Pillar 
from  the  east  corner,  on  the  south  side  :"  Theater  of  Mortality] — and  hath 
the  following  words  in  gilded  letters  : — 

Hie  reconditus  jacet  nobilissimus  vir 

D.  ADAMUS  BOTHUELIUS,  Episcopus 

Orcadum  et  Zethlandiae,  Commendatarius  Monastery' 

Sanctae  Crucis,  Senator  et  Conciliarius 

Kegius,  qui  obijt  anno  aetatis  suae  72  [67] 

tertio  [23]  die  mensis  Augusti  anno  Domini  1593. 

Translation — Here  lies  Interred  Lord  Adam  Bothwell,  a  most  noble 
man,  Bishop  of  Orkney  and  Shetland,  Commendator  of  the  Mon- 
astery of  the  Holy  Cross,  a  Lord  of  Session  and  Privy  Councillor, 
who  Died  in  the  67th  year  of  his  age,  23rd  day  of  August,  A.D.  1593. 

Upon  the  same  stone  ther  are  some  verses  that  contain  but  little 
sense.  Menteith,  in  his  Theater  of  Mortality,  jj.  52,  gives  the  following 
Translation  of  these  Verses"  :— "  Born  of  a  great  Senator,  himself  a  great 

*  Menteith  does  not  give  the  Translation  stated  by  Father  Hay,  but  as  follows  :— 

EPITAPHIUM. 

Nate  Seiiatoris  magni ;  magne  ipse  Senator  ; 
Magni  Senatoris,  triplice  laude,  parens; 
Tempore  cujus  opem  poscens  ecclesia  sensit ; 
Amplexa  est  cujus  cura  forensis  opem  ; 
Vixisti  ex  animi  voto :  Jam  plenus  honorum ; 
Plenus  opum,  semi  jam  quoq;  plenus,  obis 
Sic  nihil  urna  tui,  nisi  membra  senilia  celat; 
Teque  vetat  virtus,  vir  tua  magne  mori. 
J.  fselix  Mortem  requie  superato  suprema, 
Sic  Patriss  et  liberis,  fama  perennis  erit, 
JEternum  vive,  atque  vale. 

M.  H.  R. 

EPITAPH. 

Thy  praise  is  triple  sure ;  thyself,  thy  Sire, 
Thy  Son,  all  Senators  whom  men  admire. 
The  stagg'ring  State  by  thee  was  quickly  stay'd, 
The  troubled  Church  from  thee  got  present  aid. 
Thou  lived'st  at  thy  wish ;  thy  good  old  age 
In  wealth  and  honours  took  thee  off  the  stage. 
Thine  aged  corpse  interred  here  now  lie, 
Thy  virtues  great  forbid  your  name  to  die. 
Go,  happy  soul,  and  in  thy  last  repose 
Vanquish  thou  Death,  and  all  its  fatal  blows 
Thy  fragrant  fame  shall  thus  eternal  be, 
Unto  thy  country  and  posteritie. 

VOL.  I.  X 


162  MONASTICON. 

Senator,  and  the  father  of  a  great  Senator,  he  has  triple  praise.  He  helped 
the  Church  in  time  of  need,  and  greatly  assisted  the  State.  He  lived 
according  to  the  dictates  of  his  own  mind,  and  Died  full  of  days,  wealth, 
and  honour.  The  Grave  holds  only  his  worn-out  frame,  his  virtues  forbid 
his  memory  to  die.  Happy  soul,  he  conquers  death  in  his  last  sleep,  and 
his  renown  shall  be  lasting  in  his  country.  Live  for  ever,  and  farewell." 
And  above  the  precedent  words  is  his  scutchen  so  represented ;  the  supporter, 
an  Angell  at  the  back  of  the  scutchen,  holding  it  with  his  two  hands,  dis- 
played the  motto,  Obdura  adversus  imurgentia.  Att  the  foot  of  the  stone  the 
following  Letters— M.  K.  (M.  H.  E.)  [Father  Hay.} 

[Abbot  Adam  Bothwell's  Seal  very  much  resembles  Abbot  Eobert's.] 

81.  JOHN  BOTHWELL,  the  Bishop's  eldest  son,  had  a  Provision  to  the 
Abbacy  of  Holyrood  under  the  Great  Seal,  24th  February,  1581.  He 
succeeded  his  father  as  a  Lord  of  Session  in  1593.  He  accompanied  King 
James  to  England.  In  1607,  the  Lands  of  Dunrod  and  Kirklands  in  Kirk- 
cudbright, Alhammer  or  Whitekirk  in  Haddington,  part  of  the  Abbey 
Property,  together  with  the  Monastery  of  Holyrood  itself,  were  erected  into 
the  temporal  Lordship  of  Holyroodhouse,  in  favour  of  him  and  his  heirs, 
with  the  place  and  dignity  of  a  Lord  of  Parliament,  by  the  title  of  "  Lord 
Holyroodhouse." 

John,  Lord  Bothwell,  succeeded  his  father  in  the  Abbay ;  he  Died  with- 
out heirs  male  ;  so  since  his  death  we  hear  of  none  that  carried  the  title  of 
Abbot.  A  part  of  the  Lands  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Earle  of  Eoxburgh. 
King  Charles  the  First  urged  that  Earle  to  surrender  the  superiority  of  the 
Canongate  and  Bruchton,  which  belonged  of  old  to  that  Abbay.  The  Earle 
granted  with  much  difficulty  what  the  King  required,  yet  retained  the  rents 
thereof  till  such  time  that  he  was  to  receive  211,000  Merks  for  the  same. 

King  James  the  Seventh  intended  to  bestow  that  place  upon  our  Canons 
of  Saint  Genoveves.  For  that  effect  I  began  to  trait  with  the  Earle  of 
Perth,  the  29th  of  May,  1687,  att  seven  of  the  clock  att  night,  and  continued 
the  31  of  May,  the  2,  4,  13,  16  "days  of  June.  Tewsday  the  llth  of  July, 
the  keys  of  the  Church  were  given  to  my  Lord  Chancellor,  who  delivered 
them  next  morning  to  the  Provost,  and  gave  him  fourteen  days  to  take  away 
the  sets — the  bedlar  had  care  thereof.  The  Sunday  following,  the  Abbay 
Parish  was  transferred  to  the  Lady  Tester's  Church,  and  the  Minister  therof 
preached  therin. 

King  James  designed  likewise  to  make  that  Church  the  meeting-place 
of  the  Knights  of  Saint  Andrew ;  and  for  that  effect  caused  build  a  curious 
work  therein,  which  was  ruined,  when  almost  finished,  by  the  moab  of 
Edinburgh,  1688,  upon  Munday  the  10  December ;  who  destroyed  likewise 
his  Majestie's  Privet  Chapell  in  the  Palace,  pillaged  the  Jeswit's  Colledge, 
which  stood  in  the  Chancellour's  appartments,  and  plundered  severall  other 
dwellings  belonging  to  the  Eoman  Catholicks,  both  in  the  City  and  Countrey. 

Part  of  this  house  is  become  the  Palace  of  our  Kings,  and  the  Church, 
of  late,  the  Burial  Place  of  our  Nobility.  Upon  Sunday  the  22  of  January, 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYROOD.  168 

1688, 1  buried  the  body  of  Agnas  Irwine,  spouse  to  Captaine  Charters,  in 
that  Church,  betwixt  five  and  six  of  the  clock  at  night ;  the  Earle  of  Perth, 
Chancellor,  Duke  of  Gordon,  and  severall  other  persons  of  all  ranks  present. 
I  was  in  my  habit,  with  surplice  and  aulmuss ;  the  ceremony  was  performed 
after  the  rites  of  Eome.  She  was  the  first  persone  since  the  pretended 
Beformation  that  was  interred  publicly  after  that  manner.  [Father  Hay.] 

The  CHRONICLE  commenced  by  the  Canons  of  Holyrood — 
[Chronicon  Sanctae  Crucis,  first  Published  by  Wharton,  and  Re- 
printed  for  the  Bannatyne  Club.  The  part  which  has  been 
preserved  comes  down  only  to  1163] — and  which  promised  to  be 
so  valuable  to  the  Historian,  unfortunately  breaks  off  at  the  time 
of  their  third  Abbot ;  and  even  the  Indices  Sanctorum,  and  the 
"two  Calendars  of  Benefactors  and  Brethren,  begun  from  the 
earliest  times,  and  continued  by  the  care  of  numerous  Monks," 
may,  when  due  allowance  is  made  for  the  magniloquent  style  of 
the  Kecorder,  mean  nothing  more  than  the  united  Calendar, 
Martyrology,  and  Ritual  Book,  which  is  fortunately  still  pre- 
served by  Mr  Pringle,  of  Whytbank.  It  is  a  large  folio  Volume 
of  132  leaves  of  thick  vellum,  in  oak  boards  covered  with 
stamped  leather,  which  resembles  the  binding  of  the  Sixteenth 
Century. 

No  evidence  is  found  that  any  Chartulary  of  Grants  in  favour 
of  the  Abbey  was  ever  formed.  When,  however,  the  period  of 
dilapidation  arrived,  a  Register  became  necessary  of  the  Grants 
by  the  Abbey ;  and  we  have  still  extant  fragments  of  it,  recording 
Feu  Charters,  and  Leases  of  Lands,  and  Tithes,  from  1545  to 
1567.  [Preserved  in  the  General  Register  House.] 

The  extent  of  the  ancient  Possessions  of  this  great  Abbey, 
may  be  gathered  from  the  Charters  and  Gifts  collected  in  the 
valuable  Munimento  Ecclesie  Sancte  Crucis  de  Edwinesburg  (from 
which  the  present  details  have  been  selected,  by  kind  permission), 
though  many  Writs  have  undoubtedly  been  lost;  and  others, 
recording  transactions  with  the  neighbouring  Abbey  of  Newbottle, 
are  to  be  found  in  its  Published  Register.  To  ascertain  what 
part  of  its  old  Property  remained  at  the  "Reformation,"  is  now 
almost  impossible.  Some  information,  however,  may  be  derived 
from  the  imperfect  Register  of  Feu  Charters  already  mentioned ; 


164  MONASTICON. 

and  additional  assistance  is  afforded  by  a  series  of  Stent  Rolls,  or 
computations  for  enabling  the  nominal  holder  of  the  Benefice, 
after  the  "Reformation,"  to  operate  his  relief  in  general  taxations 
against  the  real  owners  of  the  property. 

The  accident  which  drove  the  first  of  the  great  Lords  of 
Galloway  to  seek  refuge  in  Holyrood,  and  to  conciliate  the  Royal 
favour  by  enriching  the  new  Foundation,  has  given  to  the 
Charters  of  the  Abbey  an  additional  importance,  as  forming  the 
most  ancient  Records  of  the  tenure  of  property  in  that  interesting 
but  obscure  district.  For  the  Ecclesiastical  Antiquary,  they 
furnish  notices  of  an  ancient  Division  of  the  Bishopric  of  Gallo- 
way into  three  Deaneries,  corresponding  apparently  with  natural 
Divisions  of  the  Country,  though  only  one  of  these  is  popularly 
known  at  the  present  day.  [The  Deanery  of  the  known  district 
of  the  Rinnes.  The  other  two  are  Desnes  and  Fames,  which 
are  yet  to  be  explained  by  the  local  Antiquary.]  The  acquisition 
by  Holyrood  of  the  four  Churches  in  Galloway,  quae  ad  jus 
Abbaciae  cle  Hii  Golumcliille  pertinent,  may  afford  room  for  much 
speculation.  Were  these  the  property  of  lona,  and,  if  so,  how 
could  the  Sovereign  assume  the  right  to  dispose  of  them  ?  Or 
had  the  Cluniac  Monks,  introduced  there  by  King  William, 
scruples  about  holding  Benefices  cum  cum  animarum,  while  the 
other  great  Monastery  of  that  Order  was  rapidly  acquiring 
Churches  all  over  Scotland  ?  Spottiswoode,  without  quoting  his 
authority,  says  the  Cluniac  Monks  of  Icolmkill,  in  the  Reign  of 
King  William,  lost  all  their  Benefices  cum  cum  animarum  in 
Galloway,  which  were  bestowed  upon  the  Canons  of  Holyrood; 
the  Benedictines  not  being  allowed  by  their  Constitutions  to 
perform  the  duties  and  functions  of  a  Curate — an  insufficient 
reason  at  least  for  parting  with  property  which  might  lawfully  be 
held  even  by  laymen.  Or,  lastly,  is  this  a  vestige,  and  the  only 
remaining  one,  of  that  authority  exercised  by  the  Abbots  of  lona 
over  the  Churches  of  a  wide  district  ?  It  is  probable  that  the 
more  ancient  Cells  and  Dependencies  of  Holyrood  in  the  Hebrides 
-  [Crusay  and  Oronsay,  both  Foundations  of  S.  Columba ;  the 
other  Houses  of  Rowadil  and  Colonsay,  were  natural  offsets  of 
Holyrood,  after  it  had  acquired  a  footing  and  influence  among 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYKOOD.  165 

the  Islanders]  — were  at  first  the  property  of  the  venerable  Abbey 
of  lona,  and  that  they  changed  owners  at  the  same  time  with 
these  Galloway  possessions,  though  we  have  no  record  of  their 
acquisition. 

The  chief  Territories  of  the  Abbey,  however,  lay  nearer  home. 
In  the  Carse  of  Falkirk,  round  their  Churches  of  Erth,  Kineil, 
and  Falkirk;  in  Livingston,  Bathgate,  Ogleface,  and  Kareden, 
they  had  Possessions  of  immense  extent,  and  now  of  immense 
value.  On  the  other  side,  they  had  large  Grants  in  Preston, 
Tranent,  and  Bolton,  and  the  whole  Territory  of  Hamer,  the 
name  of  which  has  now  merged  in  the  more  popular  one  of 
Whitekirk  ;  while,  in  the  closer  vicinity,  the  Abbey  had,  from  the 
earliest  times,  the  Burgh  of  Canongait,  the  Baronies  of  Brough- 
toun  and  Inverleith,  Sauchton  and  Sauchtonhall,  with  large 
Estates,  latterly  held  by  their  Vassals,  in  Merchinstoun,  Libber- 
ton,  and  Craigmillar. 

With  such  an  extent  of  Territory  in  the  fairest  Districts  of 
Scotland,  joined  to  the  Tithes  of  their  numerous  Churches,  it  is 
astonishing  to  find  the  Revenue  of  Holyrood,  as  given  up  at  the 
"  Reformation,"  amounting  only  to  £2926  8s  6d  of  Money,  with 
116  Chalders  of  Victual.  After  all  allowance  for  the  imperfect 
cultivation  and  scanty  produce  of  the  soil,  and  for  the  admitted 
liberality  of  the  Catholic  Churchmen  towards  their  Tenants,  with 
the  knowledge  of  the  rapid  dilapidations  which  preceded  the 
"  Reformation,"  it  is  still  difficult  to  conjecture  how  the  Revenue 
of  their  actual  Possessions  of  the  Abbey  can  have  been  estimated 
so  low. 

The  Privilege  Granted  by  the  Foundation  Charter  to  the 
Abbot,  to  which  the  Burgh  of  Canongait  owes  its  origin,  gave 
rise  in  after  times  to  hot  disputes  between  the  City  and  the 
Burgh  of  the  Abbot.  The  Proceedings  in  one  suit  between  them, 
regarding  the  Privileges  of  the  Burgh  of  Regality  of  Canongait, 
have  been  Printed  in  the  Preface  of  Liber  Cartarum  Sancte 
Crucis  :  Bannatyne  Club — all  about  the  word  Herbergare. 

There  are  two  subjects  of  great  interest  on  which  no  informa- 
tion is  found  in  the  Collection  of  the  Muniments  of  Holyrood, — 
there  is  no  allusion  to  the  Privileges  of  the  Abbey  as  a  Sanctuary, 


166  MONASTICON. 

nor  do  we  find  any  Deed  referring  to  the  early  occupation  of  the 
Abbey  as  a  Royal  Palace. 

With  regard  to  the  Sanctuary,  notwithstanding  the  refuge 
and  protection  afforded  to  criminals  flying  to  Holy  Church,  and 
in  spite  of  the  arguments  that  have  been  founded  on  the  peculiar 
terms  of  the  great  Charter  of  King  David,  as  if  the  Abbey's 
Privileges  of  Sanctuary  derived  their  origin  from  them;  it  will  be 
the  mose  admitted,  the  more  the  subject  is  investigated,  that  the 
Sanctuary  for  debtors  is  of  comparatively  modern  origin,  and  is 
founded  on  the  Privileges  attached  by  usage  to  the  Royal 
Residence,  unconnected  with  the  ancient  protection  which  the 
Abbey,  like  other  Churches,  afforded  to  criminals. 

Notwithstanding  its  dangerous  neighbourhood  to  England, 
we  find  the  Abbey  of  Holyrood,  at  an  early  period,  capable  of 
receiving  the  retinue  of  Princes ;  and  though  frequently  a  prey  to 
the  savage  Wars  of  the  Borders,  each  time  quickly  repaired,  and 
perhaps  each  time  on  a  better  scale.  Some  Notices  of  its  various 
fortunes  have  already  been  given  among  Father  Hay's  Collec- 
tions. A  few  more  will  serve  to  mark  the  gradual  rising  of  the 
City  of  Edinburgh  into  importance,  and  the  increase  of  Royal 
favour  for  the  neighbouring  Monastery  as  a  Residence,  until  it 
became  at  length  the  chief  of  the  Royal  Palaces  of  Scotland. 

Its  neighbourhood  to  England  was  perhaps  the  inducement 
to  the  Baliols  to  prefer  Edinburgh  as  the  Seat  of  their  precarious 
Government.  In  1295,  John  Baliol  held  a  Parliament  there. 
In  1333,  his  son  Edward  held  a  Parliament,  or  rather  a  Council 
of  the  disinherited  Lords,  in  the  Abbey  Chapel. 

John  of  Gaunt  was  hospitably  entertained  in  the  Abbey,  when 
obliged  to  seek  refuge  from  the  turbulent  Commons  in  1381. 
Richard  II.,  in  his  predatory  Incursion  in  1385,  burnt  Holyrood. 
Yet  the  Abbey  seems  to  have  been  restored  and  inhabited  in 
1400,  when  Henry  IV.  spared  it  in  his  general  devastation, 
because  his  father  had  refuge  there. 

Robert  III.  seems  sometimes  to  have  made  Holyrood  his 
Residence.  James  I.  occasionally  kept  his  Court  there ;  and,  in 
the  Abbey,  his  Queen  was  delivered  of  twin  Princes,  on  the  16th 
October,  1430.  The  Parliament  held  at  Edinburgh  by  this 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYKOOD.  167 

Sovereign  in  1426,  is  among  the  first  symptoms  of  the  increased 
consideration  and  security  of  the  City,  which  soon  led  to  its 
taking  its  place  as  the  acknowledged  Capital  and  Seat  of 
Government. 

James  II.  was  Born,  Crowned,  and  Married  in  the  Abbey  of 
Holyrood;  and  his  Eemains  were  carried  from  the  disastrous 
scene  of  his  Death,  to  be  Interred  in  its  Chapel  in  1460.  Of  his 
Coronation  and  Marriage,  an  Account  has  been  quoted  above 
from  the  rhetorical  Historian  of  Scotland.  The  former  Ceremony 
is  more  simply  recorded  by  a  contemporary  Chronicler  : — "1436, 
wes  the  coronacioun  of  king  James  the  secund  with  the  red 
scheik,  callit  James  with  the  fyr  in  the  face,  he  beand  hot  sax 
yer  aid  and  ane  half,  in  the  abbay  of  Halyrudhous,  quhar  now 
his  banys  lyis."  [Chronicle  at  the  end  of  Wyntoun  MS.] 

James  III.  resided  much  at  Holyrood;  and  in  the  Abbey 
were  Solemnised,  on  the  13th  July,  1469,  his  Nuptials  with 
Margaret  of  Denmark,  and  the  Coronation  of  the  young  Queen, 
"  in  gret  dignite." 

Edinburgh  had  now  become  the  acknowledged  Capital  of  the 
Kingdom;  and  the  preceding  Notices  show  that  the  adjoining 
Monastery  was,  even  before  the  Reign  of  James  IV.,  the  usual 
Residence  of  the  Scottish  Sovereigns.  At  what  period  a  Royal 
Dwelling  was  added,  distinct  from  the  Monastic  Buildings,  it  is 
impossible  to  ascertain.  From  the  well-known  taste  of  James 
III.,  we  naturally  look  to  him  as  the  probable  Architect;  but  it 
is  possible  the  Palace  of  Holyrood  owed  its  origin  to  his  more 
princely  and  splendid  Successor. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  Treaty  of  Marriage  between  James 
IV.  and  Margaret  of  England  was  concluded  four  years  before 
the  Marriage  itself  took  place.  The  intermediate  time  was 
apparently  employed  in  preparing  a  Palace  fit  for  the  reception 
of  the  English  Princess. 

Thus  built  or  enlarged  for  the  auspicious  occasion  of  his 
Marriage,  the  Palace  of  Holyrood  continued  to  be  the  chief 
Residence  of  James  IV.,  and  he  still  expended  sums  of  money 
upon  "this  werk,"  till  near  the  disastrous  termination  of  his 
life,  in  1513. 


168  MONASTICON. 

Two  years  later,  when  John,  Duke  of  Albany,  arrived  in 
Scotland,  he  also  resided  in  Holyrood,  and  continued  the  en- 
largement of  "the  Kingis  Palice  of  Holyroodhous,"  as  appears 
from  entries  in  the  Treasurer's  Accounts  for  the  year  1515. 

Holyrood  was  only  an  occasional  place  of  Eesidence  to  James 
V. ;  yet,  after  assuming  the  reins  of  Government,  he  authorised 
various  sums  of  money  to  he  paid  for  * '  reparatiouns  of  the 
Kingis  Palace  besyde  Halyrudehouse,"  or,  as  it  is  more  frequently 
termed,  for  "the  new  werk  in  the  Abbey  of  Halyrudehouse," 
under  the  direction  of  Mr.  John  Skrymgeour,  who  was  then 
"Master  of  Works."  This  Officer's  Accounts  from  1529  to 
1541,  which  are  in  part  preserved,  would  of  themselves  show 
that  the  Palace  was  not  erected  anew  by  that  Monarch.  Athough 
it  may  not  be  possible  to  ascertain  what  portions  of  the  Building 
belonged  to  his  Keign,  it  is  probable  that  his  "new  work"  con- 
sisted of  the  Towers  which  still  remain  at  the  north-west  corner 
of  the  Palace,  and  on  which  the  words  Jac.  U.  tCX  Stotorunt, 
could  lately  be  traced,  at  the  bottom  of  a  Niche.  The  remaining 
History  of  Holyrood  is  very  well  known.  In  the  Earl  of  Hert- 
ford's Invasion,  the  English  Army  "brent  the  abbey  called  Holy 
rode  house,  and  the  pallice  adjonynge  to  the  same." 

Whether  the  destruction  was  not  complete,  or  the  Buildings 
had  been  immediately  repaired,  we  find  the  Abbey  at  least 
effectually  demolished  again,  only  three  years  later,  in  the 
Expedition  of  the  Protector  Somerset  in  1547: — "  Thear  stode 
south  westward,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  our  campe,  a 
monasterie ;  they  call  it  Holly  roode  Abbey.  Sir  Water  Bonham 
and  Edward  Chamberlayne  gat  lycense  to  suppresse  it ;  whear- 
upon  these  commissioners,  makyng  first  theyr  visitacion  thear, 
they  found  the  moonks  all  gone,  but  the  church  and  mooch  parte 
of  the  house  well  covered  with  leade.  Soon  after,  thei  pluct  of 
the  leade,  and  had  down  the  bels,  which  wear  but  two;  and, 
according  to  the  Statute,  did  somewhat  hearby  disgrace  the  hous. 
As  touching  the  moonkes,  bicaus  they  wear  gone,  thei  put  them 
to  their  pencions  at  large."  One  of  these  Bells  is  now  in  the 
South-East  Tower  of  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Chapel,  York  Place, 
Edinburgh. 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYROOD. 


169 


What  became  of  the  Community  of  the  Abbey  of  Holyrood- 
house  at  the  destruction  of  the  Monastery  by  the  Earl  of  Hertford 
does  not  appear,  but  we  find  that  one  of  the  Monks  named  John 
Brand,  served  many  years  after  the  Beformation  as  Minister 
of  the  Canongate.  Brand  was  employed  by  John  Hamilton, 


TOWER  AND   WEST   FRONT  OP   HOLYROOD  CHAPEL. 

natural  brother  of  the  Earl  of  Arran,  and  last  Archbishop  of  St. 
Andrews  before  the  Reformation,  to  signify  to  John  Knox  that 
he  ought  to  be  wary  in  his  Reform  of  the  Church,  especially  as 
to  its  Temporalities,  in  regard  to  which  he  looked  upon  the  plan 
of  annual  Deacons  for  collecting  the  Church  Rents  as  a  dream, 
adding,  "  Our  Highlandmen  have  a  custom,  when  they  will  break 


VOL.  I. 


170  MONASTICON. 

young  colts,  to  fasten  them  by  the  head  with  strong  tethers,  one 
of  which  they  keep  ever  fast  till  the  beast  be  thoroughly  broke. 
The  multitude,  that  beast  with  many  heads,  should  just  be  so 
dealt  with.  Master  Knox,  I  know,  esteemeth  me  not,  but  he 
shall  find  what  I  say  turn  out  true."  [Spottiswo&de.] 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  how  the  Abbey  survived  so  much 
Burning  and  Suppressing.  Those  were  not  times  when  either 
Monasteries  or  Palaces  were  eagerly  re-edificed,  and  yet  we  are 
told  by  Lesly  that  the  "Reformers"  once  more  spoiled  the 
Abbey,  and  damaged  the  Palace,  on  the  29th  June,  1559. 

We  know  for  certain  that  Mary  made  the  Palace  her  Resi- 
dence in  1561  ;  and  there  took  place,  in  rapid  succession,  the 
chief  scenes  of  her  Tragedy. 

The  Nave  of  the  Ruined  Abbey  Church  appears  to  have  been 
fitted  up  as  a  Chapel  Royal  previous  to  the  arrival  of  Queen 
Mary  from  France  in  1561.  Upon  her  return  to  Scotland,  such 
was  the  intolerant  spirit  of  the  "Reformers"  in  matters  of 
Religion,  that  the  Queen's  natural  brothers — James,  Prior  of  St. 
Andrews ;  John,  Prior  of  Coldingham ;  and  Robert,  Abbot  of 
Holyrood — had,  on  the  first  day  of  the  Queen  being  at  Public 
Worship,  actually  to  guard  the  door  of  the  Chapel  Royal,  to 
preserve  the  officiating  Clergyman  from  violence  while  he  was 
saying  Mass.  Among  others,  John  Knox  was  highly  offended  at 
this  defection,  as  he  termed  it,  of  the  Queen's  brothers,  who  had 
turned  Protestants,  notwithstanding  their  Catholic-sounding 
Titles;  and  he  and  his  Party  protested  warmly  against  the 
indulgence  shown  to  the  Queen.  The  next  day  Knox  Preached 
a  furious  Sermon  against  Popery,  wherein  he,  among  other 
absurdities  of  the  like  nature,  declared  "  that  one  Mass  was  more 
frightful  to  him  than  if  10,000  armed  enemies  were  landed  in 
any  part  of  the  Kingdom."  It  is  impossible  to  avoid  noticing 
the  contrast  between  his  violence  and  intolerance,  and  the 
dignified  moderation  exhibited  in  the  conduct  of  the  young 
Queen.  Incited  by  their  favourite  Preacher,  the  Mob  of  Edin- 
burgh made  a  furious  assault  upon  the  Chapel  Royal  on  the  1st 
November,  1561,  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  the  Furniture, 
and  preventing  what  they  called  "Idolatry."  The  Prior  of  St. 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYROOD.  171 

Andrews  quieted  the  tumult  by  his  influence  with  the  people ; 
but  other  Noblemen  then  at  Court  resented  it  so  much,  that  they 
advised  Queen  Mary  to  take  a  sanguinary  revenge  for  the  Insult  ; 
the  Earl  of  Huntly  even  offered  to  re-establish  the  Mass  in  all 
the  Northern  Counties.  The  Queen,  although  she  could  not  but 
sensibly  feel  the  indignity  of  their  conduct,  refused  to  avenge 
herself  upon  the  Mob,  and  equally  rejected  Huntly's  offer  to 
restore  Papacy  by  violence.  She  contented  herself  with  calling 
Knox  before  her,  demanding  of  him  why  he  used  so  much 
violence  of  invective  against  those  who  differed  from  him  in 
opinion,  and  taxed  him  with  the  doctrine  in  his  Book  against  the 
Government  of  Women.  Knox  spoke  at  great  length  upon  his 
favourite  subject,  "  the  Idolatry  of  the  Mass/'  and  professed  that 
he  would  show  to  her  such  reverence  as  became  the  Ministers  of 
God  to  show  to  the  superior  power.  If  this  interview  proved 
totally  useless,  either  in  convincing  Queen  Mary  of  her  "  errors" 
in  point  of  Faith,  or  ineffectual  in  restraining  Knox  to  a  decency 
of  expression  in  Preaching,  it  yet  answered  some  purpose,  as, 
from  Knox's  bearing  in  the  presence  of  his  Sovereign  on  this 
occasion,  and  his  usual  intrepidity,  it  was  said  of  him  by  his 
Admirers,  that  "he  never  feared  the  face  of  man."  The  best 
thing,  in  our  judgment,  connected  with  this  famous  Interview, 
is  its  furnishing,  at  the  distance  of  nearly  three  Centuries,  a  sub- 
ject for  a  capital  Picture  by  Allan. 

While  the  Queen  was  absent  in  Fife  in  1563,  John  Knox 
again  stirred  up  the  Edinburgh  Mob  to  attack  the  Abbey  Church. 
The  Queen's  servants  at  Holyroodhouse  were  repeatedly  insulted 
at  his  instigation,  on  account  of  their  Keligion  ;  and  a  Priest 
who  was  performing  Mass  privately  in  the  Abbey,  only  saved 
himself  from  being  torn  in  pieces  by  flying  through  a  back  door. 
Mary,  upon  hearing  of  this  outrage,  was  justly  incensed — to  that 
degree  that  she  refused  to  return  to  Edinburgh  till  the  Kioters 
were  brought  to  justice  ;  and  she  ordered  Knox  to  attend  at 
Lochleven  to  account  for  his  conduct. 

An  Interview,  which  lasted  two  hours,  produced  as  little  good 
as  the  former.  Knox  laid  it  down  as  a  maxim  with  his  Party, 
that  they  had  a  right  to  put  to  death  any  Priest  found  saying  Mass. 


172  MONASTICON. 

The  Queen  asked  him,  "Will  ye  allow  that  they  shall  take  my 
sword  in  their  hand  ?  "  He  answered  "  that  the  sword  of  justice 
was  God's  sword,  and  that  if  Princes  made  not  the  right  use  of 
it,  the  Kulers  under  them,  that  fear  God,  ought  to  do  it."  And 
to  prove  this,  he  told  her  that  "  Samuel  spared  not  to  slay  Agag, 
the  fat  and  delicate  king  of  Amalek,  whom  Saul  had  saved; 
neither  spared  Elias  Jezebel's  false  prophets  and  Baal's  false 
priests,  albeit  that  King  Ahab  was  present.  Phineas  was  no 
magistrate,  and  yet  lie  feared  not  to  strike  Zimri  and  Cozbi  in 
the  very  act  of  filthy  fornication ;  he  noways  doubted  but  then  were 
as  much  guided  by  the  Spirit  of  God  as  .any  of  these  ivere." 
[Knox's  History.}  According  to  this  precious  doctrine,  the 
Statutes  of  the  Kingdom  were  waste  paper,  and  it  was  lawful  for 
every  man  to  do  that  which  was  right  in  his  own  eyes,  provided 
he  did  it  after  the  example  of  a  Scriptural  case,  he  himself  being 
judge  of  its  analogy. 

On  the  10th  February,  1562,  the  Queen's  natural  brother, 
James  Stewart,  Prior  of  St.  Andrews,  was  Married,  in  the  Abbey 
Church,  to  Agnes  Keith,  daughter  of  the  Earl  Marischal.  The 
Wedding  was  Celebrated  by  a  Masquerade  in  the  Palace,  and 
other  gaieties,  which  Knox  considered  a  deadly  sin,  and  which  he 
rebuked  with  great  virulence.  This  celebrated  person  (Stewart) 
has  had  an  almost  equal  amount  of  praise  and  blame  from 
Historians.  By  the  "  Reforming  Party"  he  was  looked  to  as 
their  best  Champion,  and  by  them  named,  after  his  death,  "the 
good  Regent  Murray;"  while  by  the  other  Party,  he  was  equally 
hated  and  feared.  It  does  not  redound  much  to  the  credit  of  his 
memory  that  he  was  so  eager  for  his  sister's  condemnation,  when 
the  unfortunate  Queen  was  at  the  mercy  of  her  bitterest  enemy. 
He  was  shot  in  the  streets  of  Linlithgow,  in  the  year  1570,  by 
Hamilton  of  Bothwellhaugh,  who,  if  provocation  could  ever  be 
urged  in  extenuation  of  assassination,  had  unhappily  too  fair  a 
plea  of  that  nature.  Hamilton  was  a  staunch  adherent  of  Queen 
Mary,  and  on  the  defeat  of  her  Army  at  Langside,  was,  along 
with  others,  deprived  of  his  Estates.  His  wife,  not  thinking  that 
this  Proscription  extended  to  her  Patrimony,  which  had  been 
secured  to  herself  as  a  jointure  by  a  Marriage  Contract,  was 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYEOOD.  173 

living  without  dread  upon  her  Estate,  when  Murray's  favourite, 
who  had  obtained  a  gift  of  Hamilton's  property  from  "the  good 
Regent,"  seized  her  Jointure,  and  acted  with  the  most  savage 
barbarity,  turning  the  unhappy  Lady  out  of  her  own  house  naked 
in  a  winter  night.  The  Lady  lost  her  reason  from  the  effects  of 
this  vile  usage ;  and  her  husband  openly  vowed  revenge,  seeking 
his  opportunity  for  years.  He  at  last  effected  his  purpose,  by 
shooting  Murray  dead  with  a  single  bullet,  from  a  window  in  the 
street  of  Linlithgow.  The  Carbine,  a  little  old-fashioned  German 
Eifle,  with  which  Hamilton  shot  Murray,  is  preserved  in  the 
possession  of  the  Noble  Family  of  Hamilton,  at  Hamilton  Palace, 
Lanarkshire. 

The  Queen  was  Married  to  Darnley  in  the  Church  of  the 
Abbey,  29th  July,  1566.  There,  in  the  following  year,  Kizzio 
was  Murdered  while  clinging  to  her  robe  for  protection.  There 
she  heard  the  tumult  that  proclaimed  the  destruction  of  her 
husband.  In  the  Hall  of  the  Palace,  on  the  15th  May,  1567, 
she  was  Married  to  Bothwell ;  and  on  the  6th  of  June,  she  left 
it,  never  to  return.  On  the  18th  June,  1567,  two  days  after  the 
Queen's  imprisonment,  Glencairne  and  the  Lords  of  the  Congre- 
gation spoiled  the  Chapel  of  Holyrood. 

The  next  information  we  have  of  the  state  of  the  Chapel,  is 
from  the  Proceedings  in  the  General  Assembly  of  1570. 

In  the  Palace  were  Celebrated  the  Nuptials  of  James  VI.  in 
1589 ;  and,  in  the  following  year,  the  Coronation  of  Anne  of 
Denmark,  his  Queen. 

In  1617,  King  James  VI.  ordered  the  Chapel  to  be  repaired, 
and  sent  workmen  from  London,  with  directions  for  setting  up 
Pictures  of  the  Apostles  and  other  Decorations,  which  threatened 
to  excite  a  popular  commotion ;  and  the  design  was  abandoned. 

In  1633,  Charles  I.  thoroughly  repaired  it,  as  appears  from 
an  Inscription  above  the  Grand  Entrance,  and  provided  it  with 
decent  Furniture  as  a  Chapel  Royal,  intending  it  to  be  used  as 
such  by  the  King's  High  Commissioner  for  Scotland  in  time 
coming.  But  upon  the  frustration  of  the  attempt  to  establish 
" Episcopacy"  in  Scotland,  it  was  used  as  the  Church  of  the 
Parish  of  Holyroodhouse  and  Canongate  till  1687. 


174  MONASTICON. 

The  Palace  probably  remained  without  alteration  or  much 
repair  from  the  departure  of  James  VI.  to  England,  down  to  the 
period  of  the  great  Civil  War.  Cromwell  appears  'to  have  added 
some  Building  within  the  Court,  which  was  afterwards  removed. 
But  after  the  Eestoration,  the  Palace  was  repaired  and  almost 
rebuilt  by  Charles  II.,  several  of  whose  Warrants  and  Letters 
to  the  Commissioners  of  the  Treasury,  on  the  subject,  show 
that  the  King  took  a  personal  interest  and  direction  in  the  Plans. 

Sir  William  Bruce,  of  Kinross,  an  Architect  of  considerable 
reputation  in  Scotland  at  that  period,  was  the  Designer  of  the 
new  Palace,  and  also  the  Surveyor  of  the  work ;  but  the  King 
and  Lauderdale  gave  the  minutest  directions  for  the  disposition 
of  each  Floor,  Staircase,  and  Apartment  of  the  new  Buildings. 
Of  the  outward  Fabric,  "  his  Majesty  liked  the  front  very  well  as 
it  was  designed,  provided  the  gate  where  the  King's  coach  is  to 
come  in  be  large  enough ;  as  also,  he  liked  the  taking  doune  of 
that  narrow  upper  parte  which  was  built  in  Cromwell's  time." 
On  the  economy  and  arrangement  of  the  rest,  the  King  was  still 
more  minute,  even  directing  "  chimneys  in  the  corners  of  rooms 
where  it  is  not  so  convenient  to  set  them  in  any  of  the  sides." 

In  1676,  Charles  II.  granted  his  Warrant  for  payment  of 
JC4734  Sterling,  as  the  estimated  expense  of  the  work  necessary 
for  completing  the  Palace  and  Gardens,  and  bringing  in  water  to 
the  house.  The  Church  seems  also  to  have  been  repaired  by 
that  King,  who  appointed  it  to  be  the  Chapel  Royal,  and  no 
longer  to  be  used  as  the  Parish  Church  of  the  Canongate. 

King  James  VII.  appointed  the  Great  Boom  in  the  Palace, 
designed  by  his  brother  for  a  Council  Chamber,  to  be  fitted  up 
as  his  Private  Chapel ;  and  ordered  <£100  Sterling  yearly,  for  the 
persons  employed  for  the  service  of  the  Music  there.  In  the 
same  year,  the  King,  grown  bolder  in  the  support  of  his  Religion, 
gave  directions  for  fitting  up  the  Abbey  Church  as  a  Catholic 
Chapel,  and  as  the  Chapel  of  the  Knights  of  the  Thistle.  Twelve 
Stalls  for  the  Knights,  with  a  Throne  for  the  Sovereign,  and 
appropriate  Furniture,  were  provided;  and  a  beautiful  Pavement 
of  Marble,  in  Mosaic,  was  laid  in  the  Centre  Aisle.  Over  the 
Stalls  were  the  Banners  of  the  Knights.  The  fragments  of  the 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYKOOD.  175 

Pillars  still  manifest  that  they  were  painted  red  and  black.  Within 
a  year  from  the  Date  of  this  Order,  the  last  King  of  the  Stuarts 
had  abdicated  the  Kingdoms  of  his  fathers. 

At  the  Kevolution,  the  populace  of  Edinburgh  attacked 
the  Church  of  Holyrood,  as  a  place  polluted  by  the  Kites 
of  Popery,  and  despoiled  the  interior  Ornaments,  leaving 
nothing  but  the  bare  walls.  They  even  broke  into  the  Vaults 
in  which  lay  the  bodies  of  King  James  V.,  of  Magdalene  of 
France  (his  first  Queen),  of  the  Earl  of  Darnley,  and  others  of 
the  Monarchs  and  Royal  Family  of  Scotland.  They  broke  open 
the  lead  Coffins,  carried  off  the  lids,  but  left  the  rest.  [Arnot,  p. 
253.  Sir  E.  Sibbald  had  seen  those  Coffins  entire  in  a  Vault  in 
the  south-east*corner  of  the  Church,  on  the  24th  January,  1683. 
—Daly ell's  Scottish  Poems,  p.  26,  Note.] 

In  1758,  the  Chapel  was  repaired  at  the  expense  of  the 
Exchequer,  but  the  Roof,  injudiciously  covered  with  stone,  proved 
too  heavy,  and  fell  in,  ten  years  afterwards,  during  the  night 
between  the  2d  and  3d  December,  1768. 

That  was  the  last  attempt  to  restore  the  Chapel  of  Holyrood. 
The  Ruin  seems  to  have  been  cleared  away  in  1776,  when,  we 
are  told,  the  bodies  of  James  V.  and  some  others  were  still  to  be 
seen  in  their  leaden  Coffins,  and  that  the  head  of  Queen  Magda- 
lene was  then  entire,  and  even  beautiful.  The  same  Author  tells 
us  the  Coffins,  and  also  the  head  of  Magdalene  of  France,  and 
the  skull  of  Darnley,  were  stolen,  when  he  visited  the  Vaults 
again  in  1779. 

The  Site  of  the  Abbey  does  not  display  the  usual  keen  per- 
ception, visible  in  most  cases,  in  the  localities  chosen  for 
Monasteries.  It  is  situated  rather  obscurely  at  the  Eastern 
extremity  of  the  central  ridge  upon  which  Edinburgh  stands, 
and  at  the  base  of  the  rocky  eminences  of  Salisbury  Crags  and 
Arthur  Seat ;  but  the  choice  of  the  Site,  according  to  the 
Legend,  was  not  left  to  the  option  of  the  Monks. 

The  Chapel  Royal  is  the  only  portion  of  the  Abbey  Church 
which  survived  its  burning  by  the  English  Army,  under  the  Earl 
of  Hertford,  in  the  year  1545.  This  portion  was  the"  Nave  of 
the  Abbatial  Church,  and  even  in  its  present  ruined  condition  it 


176  MONASTICON. 

is  very  capable  of  conveying  some  idea  of  the  ancient  splendour 
of  the  entire  Edifice.  When  entire  the  Abbey  Church  consisted 
of  three  principal  Divisions — the  Nave  or  principal  Western 
portion,  the  Choir,  and  Chapel  dedicated  to  the  Blessed  Virgin, 
forming  the  Eastern  branch,  and  the  Transept,  placed  in  the 
centre,  running  North  and  South,  and  crossing  the  line  of  the 
Nave  and  Choir  at  right  angles.  At  the  junction  of  the  Nave 
and  Choir  with  the  Transept,  sprung  a  lofty  square  Tower  or 
Lantern,  built  upon  four  arched  Columns,  which  served  also  as 
Piers  for  the  lofty  central  Arches,  by  which  the  Nave  and  Choir 
communicated  with  each  other  through  the  Transept. 

The  chief  Entrance  to  the  Church  was  by  the  present  mag- 
nificent Door-way  in  the  West  Front,  which  was  flanked  on 
either  side  by  a  square  Tower,  of  which  the  North  one  is  still 
remaining.  The  other  was  either  demolished  at  the  destruction 
of  the  Abbey  by  the  Earl  of  Hertford,  or  has  been  removed  to 
make  way  for  the  buildings  of  the  Palace.  All  that  remains  of 
the  Transept  are  slight  remains  of  the  Columns  of  its  North  and 
South  limbs,  and  there  is  now  no  vestige  of  the  Choir  and  Lady 
Chapel,  which  extended  beyond  the  present  Eastern  Window  as 
far  as  the  space  occupied  by  the  length  of  the  Nave. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  left,  after  an  examination  of  the  Ruins 
of  the  Chapel  Royal,  that  the  Abbey  was  originally  of  Norman 
Architecture,  upon  which  various  Gothic  Styles  had  been  super- 
induced at  the  different  periods  when  it  was  either  completed  or 
restored  after  its  frequent  destruction. 

The  exterior  of  the  Arch  of  the  Door  in  the  East  end  of  the 
Cloister,  in  the  South  Wall  of  the  Chapel  Royal,  is  an  example 
of  this  kind  of  Arch  with  its  Side  Columns.  The  Columns  distin- 
guish it  from  the  Saxon  Style,  which  had  no  Side  Pillars. 

The  following  is  a  Summary  of  the  different  Styles  of  Archi- 
tecture now  observable  in  all  the  portions  of  these  interesting 
Ruins  :— 

Xorntaii  Style. 

The  South  Wall.— The  Pillars  at  the  sides  of  the  Arches  of  the 
Windows  distinguish  it  as  belonging  to  this  Style. 

The  North  Wall. — The  spectator  will  readily  distinguish  the  difference 
between  the  Style  of  the  Wall  itself  and  its  supporting  Buttresses. 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYKOOD.  177 

The  Interlacing  Arches  and  Columns  on  the  Interior  of  the  South  and 
North  Walls.  Many  of  the  Columns  are  very  beautiful,  and  some  resemble 
very  closely  the  Egyptian  Style. 

The  slight  Kemains  of  the  Transept,  at  the  East  end  of  the  Nave,  show 
that  it  belonged  to  this  Style. 

The  East  Door  of  the  Cloister  and  Window  above  it  in  the  South  Wall. 
This  portion  is  evidently  among  the  earliest  built  of  all  the  Eemains,  and 
there  is  little  reason  to  doubt  of  its  having  been  part  of  King  David's  Edifice. 

Second  Gothic  Style. 

Arch  of  Transept,  at  Eastern  end  of  the  South  Aisle.  The  Capitals  of 
the  Columns  from  which  this  Arch  springs,  are  specially  worthy  of  notice, 
from  their  beauty  of  design  and  elaborate  workmanship. 

The  Piers  or  Clustered  Columns  of  the  South  Aisle,  and  the  Interior  of 
the  Great  Western  Door,  are  also  of  the  Second  Gothic  Style. 

Third  or  Florid  Gothic  Style. 

The  Exterior  of  the  Great  Western  Door.  This  portion  has  been 
inserted  after  the  erection  of  the  rest  of  the  Front,  as  appears  by  the  Centre 
Column  between  the  two  Windows  in  the  Upper  Compartment  being  off  the 
centre  of  the  Apex  of  the  Arch  of  the  Door, — a  blunder  not  likely  to  have 
occurred  had  they  been  erected  at  the  same  time. 

Mixed  Styles. 

The  Windows  in  the  Exterior  West  Front  are  a  Mixture  of  the  Saxon 
and  Norman  Styles. 

The  North  Door  and  Buttresses  are  a  mixture  of  'the  Second  and  Third 
Gothic  Styles. 

The  West  Front  of  the  Chapel  is  chiefly  worthy  of  notice. 
It  consists  of  a  square  Tower  52  feet  high,  on  the  North  side  of 
the  centre  Compartment,  which  contains  the  Great  Door  of  the 
flhurch.  This  Door,  in  the  palmy  days  of  the  Abbey,  was  only 
used  on  particular  occasions  and  High  Festivals.  There  are 
various  styles  of  Architecture  observable  here.  The  Tower  is  of 
the  Norman  Order,  as  appears  from  its  Ornaments,  consisting  of 
ranges  of  small  Columns  and  Arches.  Its  other  Ornaments  are 
figures  of  human  heads  of  very  fine  execution.  The  Great  Door 
belongs  decidedly  to  the  Third  or  Florid  Gothic  Style.  Its  Arch 
is  adorned  with  a  profusion  of  ornamental  work,  and  the  Pedi- 
ment consists  of  a  row  of  Angels'  heads  in  carved  stone-work, 
supported  by  a  solid  square-cut  oaken  Beam,  which  was  probably 

VOL.  I.  Z 


178  MONASTICON. 

inserted  at  the  repair  of  the  Chapel  by  King  Charles  I.  in  1633. 
The  portion  of  the  Wall  above  the  Door  is  a  mixture  of  the 
Saxon  and  Norman  Styles.  In  it  are  two  large  Windows,  semi- 
circular in  their  Arches,  and  having  branching  Mullions.  This 
portion  is  probably  a  remnant  of  that  part  of  the  Abbey  which 
was  rebuilt  after  it  was  burnt  by  the  English  under  Richard  II. 
in  1381.  There  is  a  Tablet  erected  between  the  Windows,  above 
the  Door,  with  the  following  Inscription  :— 


HE    SHALL    BUILD    ANE    HOUSE 

FOE  MY  NAME,  AND  I  WILL 

STABLISH   THE  THRONE 

OF  HIS  KINGDOM 

FOB  EVEB. 


BASILICAM     HANG      SEMI 

BUTAM  CAEOLUS  BEX 
OPTIMUS      INSTAUBAVIT 

ANNO   DONI 
CIO.    IOCXXXIII. 


A  little  to  the  South  side  of  this  Tablet  there  is  yet  visible 
the  groove  in  which  there  stood  a  Stone  Crucifix,  indicating  the 
Dedication  of  the  Abbey  to  the  Holy  Cross ;  and  on  the  top  of 
the  wall  were  two  Turrets,  one  on  either  side  of  this  Cross,  which 
communicated  with  each  other  by  a  covered  Passage. 

A  beautiful  glimpse  of  the  Interior  is  obtained  through  the 
open  West  Door.  The  fine  effect  of  the  light  upon  the  graceful 
Colonnade  in  the  South,  and  the  Fragments  of  the  North  Aisle, 
is  admirable. 

Leaving  the  West  Front  to  the  left,  we  come  before  the 
North  Wall,  in  which  there  are  also  various  Styles  employed. 
The  Wall  itself  is  Norman,  and  easily  distinguished  as  more 
ancient  than  its  supporting  Buttresses,  seven  in  number,  and 
ornamented  with  canopied  Niches  and  Pinnacles,  which,  with  the 
Door,  are  a  mixture  of  the  Second  and  Third  Gothic  Styles. 

The  Door  and  Buttresses  are  part  of  the  renovation  made  by 
the  Abbot  Crawfurd  towards  the  end  of  the  Fifteenth  Century. 
The  Abbot's  Arms  are  sculptured  on  several  of  the  Buttresses. 
The  Door  in  this  Wall  was  that  in  common  use  for  all  persons 
who  were  not  inmates  of  the  Abbey.  It  is  plentifully  ornamented, 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYKOOD. 


179 


but  in  a  far  inferior  manner  to  the  great  West  Door.  At  the 
Eastern  extremity  the  remains  of  the  North  Division  of  the 
Transept  are  visible.  Turning  the  North-east  angle,  we  come 
in  front  of  the  East  Wall,  consisting  of  a  beautiful  Window,  36 
feet  long  and  20  feet  broad,  with  a  smaller  Window  on  either 
side.  This  Window  is  a  restoration,  on  a  small  scale,  of  the 
great  Eastern  Window,  probably  of  the  Date  of  King  Charles's 
repair  in  1633.  It  is  a  fair  specimen  of  the  Third  Gothic  Style. 


NORTH  SIDE  OF  HOLYROOD  CHAPEL. 


It  stands  in  the  great  centre  Arch  of  the  Transept,  next  to  the 
Nave ;  the  smaller  Windows  on  each  side  are  inserted  into  the 
Side  Arches,  by  which  the  Aisles  of  the  Nave  and  Choir  com- 
municated through  the  Transept.  The  Great  Window  was 
completely  restored  so  late  as  1816,  when  its  Kuins  were  collected 
from  the  debris  around,  where  they  had  lain  since  1795,  when  it 
fell  down  from  the  effects  of  a  violent  gale. 

Some  Sculptured  Screen  Work,  of  the  Third  Gothic  Style, 


180  MONASTICON. 

has  been  collected  from  the  rubbish  which  used  to  defile  the 
Chapel,  and  placed  beneath  the  Side  Windows  in  this  Wall. 

The  South  Wall  has,  like  every  other  portion,  a  variety  of 
Styles.  These  are  the  Norman  and  the  Florid  Gothic.  The  Wall 
is  Norman;  the  beautiful  Flying  Buttresses  are  Florid  Gothic, 
and  are  reckoned  a  good  example  of  this  Style. 

At  the  East  end  of  the  South  Aisle,  and  at  the  back  of  the 
square  mass  of  Masonry  which  surmounts  the  Koyal  Vault,  is  a 
small  Doorway,  now  built  up,  which  communicated  with  the  old 
Cloisters  of  the  Abbey.  This  Door  and  the  portion  of  the  Wall 
immediately  adjoining  it,  are  the  most  ancient  portion  of  the 
Edifice  now  existing,  plainly  belonging  to  the  last  years  of  the 
Norman  or  Bomanesque  Epoch,  and  cannot  be  of  later  Date  than 
1160.  The  Doorway  is  composed  of  a  round-headed  Arch,  with 
zigzag  and  billet  Mouldings,  resting  on  two  single  shafts,  with 
the  square  Abacus.  On  the  outside  of  this  Aisle,  there  remains 
the  lower  Stage  of  five  Flying  Buttresses,  but  they  are  not  very 
elegant  in  their  proportions.  They  spring  from  Piers  about  10 
feet  distant  from  the  Wall,  and,  crossing  what  was  formerly  the 
Hoof  of  the  Cloister,  rest  against  flat  Pilasters  on  the  Wall  of  the 
Aisle.  Both  from  these  and  the  upright  Buttresses  of  the  North 
side,  there  sprung  a  second  Stage,  which,  spanning  the  roof  of 
the  Aisle  and  Triforium,  supported  the  Wall  of  the  Clerestory. 
Distinct  indications  of  this  second  Stage  of  Buttresses  are  visible 
on  the  South  Wall.  In  Niches  cut  in  the  lower  Stage,  on  either 
side  of  the  Building,  are  sculptured  the  Arms  of  Abbot  Crawfurd. 

The  Interior  of  the  Chapel  is  now  entered  by  a  Door  in  the 
North-East  corner  of  the  Quadrangle  of  the  Palace.  Passing 
through  this  Door,  we  step  upon  the  Floor  of  the  Chapel,  and 
have  before  us  all  that  remains  of  this  ancient  Abbey  Church. 
On  the  right  hand  stands  the  South  Aisle ;  it  is  still  in  a  tolerable 
state  of  preservation,  and  consists  of  an  Arcade,  formed  by  a 
range  of  Arches,  supported  by  seven  massive  Columns,  each  con- 
sisting of  eight  slender  Pillars,  bound  as  it  were  together,  round 
a  thick  central  Cylinder :  each  Pillar  has  a  distinct  Ornamental 
Capital.  This  Arcade  is  altogether  in  the  Second  Gothic  Style ; 
it  will  richly  repay  the  spectator  to  take  notice  of  the  difference 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYEOOD.  181 

between  its  Style  and  that  of  the  Side  Wall.  This  Wall  is  of  the 
same  Style  (the  Norman),  both  in  its  Interior  and  Exterior. 
The  Capitals  of  the  Ornamental  Pillars  placed  on  the  Wall  are 
exceedingly  beautiful.  The  ornamental  work  of  these  Capitals 
is  hollowed  out  in  the  parts  by  which  the  light  enters,  so  as  to 
produce  a  most  pleasing  effect  of  light  and  shade.  The  Floor  of 
this  Aisle  is  composed  of  Tombstones,  many  of  them  belonging 
to  the  Sepulture  of  Illustrious  Personages,  and  not  a  few  to  sub- 
stantial Burgesses  of  the  Canongate  (the  Gate  of  the  Canons), 
who  lived  and  Died  when  the  Chapel  Koyal  was  used  as  the 
Parish  Kirk  of  the  Parish  of  Holyroodhouse  and  Canongate.  Of 
these  we  shall  speak  hereafter,  and  preserve  their  Epitaphs. 

Of  the  North  Aisle  there  now  remain  only  two  fragments  of 
its  Colonnade.  These  enable  us  to  state  that  it  was  of  the  same 
Style  as  the  South.  The  Wall  is  ornamented  with  beautiful 
interlacing  Arches,  which  show  in  what  manner  the  Pointed  Arch 
sprung  out  of  the  Semicircular,  and  also  by  small  Columns  with 
sculptured  Capitals.  Some  of  these  Columns,  both  in  their 
Shafts  and  Capitals,  closely  resemble  the  Egyptian  Style. 

There  is  a  second  Kange  of  Columns  and  Pointed  Arches 
above  the  Colonnade  of  the  South  Aisle.  The  Columns  and 
Arches  are  twice  the  number  of  the  Range  beneath,  and,  of 
course,  smaller  in  proportion.  This  Colonnade  formed  a  Gallery 
running  the  whole  length  of  the  Church,  which  still  exists,  but  is 
shut  up  to  preserve  the  Groined  Roof  of  the  Aisle.  There  are 
still  visible  the  remains  of  a  third  Arcade,  which  was  open  to  the 
Interior,  and  contained  Windows  to  light  the  upper  parts  of  the 
Building ;  also,  a  narrow  Gallery,  which  was  continued  round  the 
Church. 

In  the  West  are  the  Great  Doorway  and  two  small  Doors. 
That  nearest  to  the  Great  Door  leads  to  a  Flight  of  Steps,  by 
which  we  ascend  to  the  Rood  Loft. 

The  other  Door  leads  into  the  Tower,  which  has  probably 
been  the  Belfry  and  Vestry  of  the  Church.  Here  is  placed  a 
Monument  to  Douglas,  Lord  Viscount  Belhaven.  The  Tower 
was  once  much  higher  than  it  is  now,  but  its  Remains  are  still  in 
good  preservation. 


182  MONASTICON. 

Of  the  Monastic  Buildings  apart  from  the  Abbey  Church,  the 
only  vestige  remaining  is  a  mere  fragment  of  the  Embattled 
Gate  or  Porch,  which  was  taken  down  in  the  year  1755.  It 
stood  in  the  centre  of  the  Street,  at  the  point  where  the  present 
Bailie  Court-House  and  Jail  now  stand :  these  were  formerly  a 
portion  of  this  Porch,  which  was  of  so  considerable  extent  as  to 
afford  accommodation  for  the  Lodgings  of  the  Keeper  of  the 
Palace.  Traces  of  its  Side  Arches  may  yet  be  discerned.  The 
Monastery,  previous  to  the  "Keformation,"  covered,  with  its 
Buildings  and  Offices  of  every  description,  the  whole  space  now 
occupied  by  the  Palace  with  the  adjoining  Gardens,  and  was 
surrounded  by  a  Wall,  of  which  a  portion  may  still  be  seen  run- 
ning Eastward  at  a  few  paces  distance  from  the  Watergate,  and 
distinguished  by  a  Circular  Turret. 

There  was  so  exact  an  uniformity  in  the  Structure  of  these 
Buildings  throughout  the  whole  of  Britain,  and  perhaps  every- 
where else,  that  the  description  of  any  one  conveys  an  accurate 
idea  of  all  the  others.  The  only  difference  was  in  the  size  of 
the  respective  Parts,  or  the  nature  of  their  Ornaments,  which 
were  suited  to  the  means  of  the  respective  Establishments,  or  to 
the  taste  of  their  Founders.  [See  Page  16.] 

Of  the  entire  range  of  Conventual  Buildings  devoted  to  the 
Domestic  uses  of  the  Canons,  not  a  vestige  has  been  left.  We 
have  evidence,  however,  on  the  Wall  of  the  South  Aisle  of  the 
Nave  of  the  Church,  that  it  and  the  West  Wall  of  the  adjoining 
Transept  formed,  as  was  not  uncommon  in  Monastic  Edifices, 
two  Sides  of  the  Great  Cloister,  leaving  the  others  to  the 
Chapter  House,  Kefectory,  and  other  principal  Apartments  of  the 
Establishment.  Doorways  led  into  the  Cloister  from  the  Eastern 
and  Western  extremities  of  the  South  Aisle,  to  allow  continuous 
egress  and  ingress  to  solemn  Processions  issuing  from  the  Church ; 
and  one  of  these  Entrances  is  still  in  excellent  preservation. 

The  Choir  and  Transepts  of  the  Abbey  Church  have  dis- 
appeared, and  the  Nave,  as  it  now  stands,  ruined  and  roofless,  is 
itself  almost  the  sole  record  of  that  which  is  gone. 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYROOD. 


183 


GROUND  PLAN  OF  HOLYEOOD  CHAPEL. 


b 

r* 

•  _  fen  —  1 


WEST  FRONT,  97  FEET  HIGH. 


Eeferences  to  the  Ground-Plan  : — 

A  Nave  of  the  Church,  128  feet  long,  62  feet  broad. 
BB  Side  Aisles  (North  and  South),  15  feet  broad;  Middle  Aisle,  29£  feet. 

c  Cloister. 
DD  Original  Transept. 

E  Altar  Window,  34  feet  high,  20  feet  broad ;  height  of  the  East  End  Wall 

to  the  Apex,  70  feet. 

FF  Doors  leading  to  the  Cloister,  now  walled  up. 
GG  Two  remaining  Pillars  on  the  North  Side. 

H  The  Secret  Stair,  leading  to  the  Rood  Loft. 

i  A  similar  one,  leading  to  the  Royal  Apartment. 

K  Belfry  Tower,  52  feet  high,  23  feet  square. 

L  North  Door  or  Porch. 

M  Main  or  West  Door. 

N  Part  of  the  Palace. 


184  MONASTICON. 

GRAVE  STONES  AND  MONUMENTS  IN  THE  ABBEY  CHAPEL. 

A  large  portion  of  the  North  and  South  Aisles  are  paved  with  Grave 
Stones  of  that  species  or  class  which  was  common  in  Prance  and  other 
Continental  Countries  in  the  Fourteenth  and  Fifteenth  Centuries ;  and  also 
at  Katho,  Koslin,  Seton,  Kinkell,  Foveran,  and  various  localities  in  the 
Islands  and  West  Highlands.  The  Slabs  of  Holyrood  average  8  feet  broad, 
and  G  feet  to  7  feet  long.  Many  are  mutilated  and  undecipherable,  but  a 
number  still  exist  with  cognisable  Devices  of  Crosses,  Swords,  Chalices, 
Coats  of  Arms,  Hammers,  &c.  Some  few  have  merely  an  Inscription  around 
the  Border ;  others  have  a  Cross  incised  with  three  Steps,  with  nothing  else. 
The  oldest  legible  is  A.D.  1655. 

I.  One  of  the  Entrances  to  the  Chapel  is  by  a  Private  Door  in  the 
North-East  corner  of  the  Quadrangle  of  the  Palace.     In  the  Middle  of  the 
Passage  leading  from  hence  to  the  Interior  of  the  Abbey,  is  shown  a  flat 
square    Stone,  under  which  the  unfortunate  Eizzio  is  said  to  have  been 
Buried;  "in  order,"  as  it  is  sarcastically  remarked,  "that  the  Queen  might 
regularly  be  indulged  with  a  sight  of  the  Tomb  of  her  lamented  Favourite, 
as  she  passed  to  and  from  her  Private  Devotion."     This  is  merely  con- 
jectural, as  one  Historian  has  pointed  out,  so  far  as  he  knows,  the  precise 
Spot  where  the  Italian  Musician  was  Entombed.   However,  this  Stone  bears 
every  mark   of  being   a   Sepulchral   Monument.     A    Shield,  with  Saxon 
Characters  rudely  sculptured  around  it,  may  be  faintly  traced ;  but  whether 
relating  to  Bizzio  is  a  matter  of  conjecture.     David  Rizzio  was  a  native  of 
Turin,  a  Town  in  the  North  of  Italy.     He  came  to  Scotland  with  the  Am- 
bassador from  Savoy,  and  thus  got  introduced  to  the  Scottish  Court.     He 
was  employed  by  Queen  Mary  to  sing  Bass,  and  having  ingratiated  himself 
into  her  favour  by  his  enchanting  Musical  powers,  was,  when  the  French 
Secretary  retired  to  France,  appointed  to  fill  his  place. 

II.  Proceeding  along  the  West  end  of  the  Chapel,  the  first  Monument 
we  meet  with  is  a  plain  Slab  upon  four  other  Stones.     This  Altar-Tomb 
is  thus  Inscribed : — 

Under  this  Stone, 
Are  laid  the  Remains  of 

The  late  Right  Honourable  GEORGE,  LORD  REAY. 

And  ELIZABETH  FAIRLIE,  his  Wife, 

In  the  grave  thus  undivided, 

As  in  life  they  were  united 

In  that  Divine  bond 

Of  Christian  Faith  and  Love, 

Which  ennobled  their  earthly  affection, 

By  elevating  each  view  and  desire, 

In  one  undeviatiug  course 
Towards  another  and  a  better  world. 
GEORGE,  LORD  REAY,  Died  27th  February,  1768, 

Atfrd  84. 
ELIZABETH,  LADY  RKAY,  Died  10th  November,  1800, 

Aged  01. 
This  Stone  is  Inscribed  Januaiy,  IHK), 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYROOD. 


185 


In  token  of  grateful  respect  and  affection, 

By  their  Daughters, 
The  HoftoonUa  Mrs.  'n.  i-'i  M  LETON, 

Ami  the;   I  loii<mr:il.l,<  (JKOH.JINA  M'KAv. 

III.  A  few  yards  further  in  the  same  direction  is  the  "Vestry," 
situated  on  tho  North-West  corner  of  the  Ahbey.  Here  is  placed  the  Mural 
Monument  of  Robert,  Viscount  Bolhaven,  of  which  the  following  is  a 
Representation  :  — 


. 

• 

1 

Upon  an  Alt;ir-Tomb  is  placed  his  Lordship's  Statue  in  a  recumbent 
posture,  tho  ri'dit  nrm  rests  upon  a  cushion  which  seems  to  yield  to  tho 
re  ;  tin-  left  li.iml  «:nisps  the  pommel  of  his  sword.  He  is  arrayed  in 
In  li'olx-s  of  Sfiife,  :iinl  Hie  flowing  folds  of  the  drapery  have  the  ease  and 
gnwfi  of  Hi,,  finest  lt:ili:m  Statuaries.  His  head  is  encircled  with  ;i  P.m-on1; 
CoronH,  ;ind  MM-  whole  li'Mire  in  very  meritorious.  The  Tomb  is  formed  of 
Parian  M;n-h1e,  hron-ht  iVom  Italy.  Tho  Columns  and  Colonnades  that 
support  Mu-  Arch,., I  fteoess  urn  of  tho  CorinMiinn  Order.  Over  tliis  Recess  is 
|il:ir.'d  ;i  Shirlil,  cli.-iriji'd  with  MM-  Arinorinl  r«c:ii-iiigs  of  the  Family,  viz., — A 

lii'i/rl  fron'iK'il  ini/><Ti«//i/,  i/iili's;  l/ii'r,'  ,s/r/r\  of  /in-  /mint*,  nn/i'iit  ;  llir<'<  fiili's 
fawng  from  ih,-  r///,/  ,////,-.s  .-  \\-iMiin  :i,  dniihlr  tn>ssuro  flowered,  ;m<l  coimlri- 
flowenid,  Tin-  Slm-M  is  Hurmountcd  l>y  u  I  li-lnici,  .<•//'//•;  cn-st,  a  Wild  P.onr 
<':in;dit  in  Mm  clefts  of  an  oak,  a  chain  and  lock  holding  them  together: 

VOL.  I.  2  A 


186  MONASTICON. 

supported  on  the  dexter  side  by  a  naked  Savage,  wreathed  and  girdled  with 
laurel,  holding  in  his  right  hand  \  Batton,  proper ;  on  the  sinister  side  by  a 
Lion,  langued  and  rampant,  proper.  Motto,  "Lock  sicker."  The  Marshal- 
ling of  these  Arms  shows  his  Lordship's  relationship  to  the  Douglasses, 
Earls  of  Morton. 

Within  the  Arched  Eecess  are  the  following  Inscriptions  : — 

D.    O.    M. 

Quod  reliquum  apud  nos  est,  hie  Ingenium  quod  literis  cultura 

BeCS»^^^gi  2  indent  saga  citate  natura 

Carolo,  a  Secretioribus  Consiliis,  et  bupplevit 

inter  familiares  intimi  quipe  qui  et  indolis  bonitate  et  candore  nulli 

prius  HENRICO  WALLLZE  gratissim,  ejusq.  cessit  facile  succendi  at  dum  loquimur 

Stabulis  praefect,  erat      lUo  vero  fatis  facilius  defervescere 

ci  *  r*r  *«*  ^ ab  — s 

est,  singular!  favoris  gradii  acceptus,  V1X  Acciperetur  umcum 

re  et  honoribus  auctus.     In  juventuti  erat. 

NICOLE  MORAVLE  Abercarnise  Comarclio  Fide  in  Regem  Pictate  in  Patriam 

natae  ad  octodecim  non  Amplius  Menses  Officiis  in  Amicos,  charitate  in 
imica}  uxoris  in  puerperio  simule  cum 

fetu  extinct*  lectissimo  consortio  6Senos  nulh  SeCUnduS 

fruebatur  ingraviscente  senectute  ab  cm  in  prospens  modus  et  comitas 

Aulico  Stripitu  (ut  morum  ilh'c  et  In  adversis  Constantia  et  Magna- 

Malorum  temporum  pertsesus)  se  sub-  nimitas  ad  Supremum  usque  diem 

trahens  in  patriam  reversus  est.  invaluere 

°™  M^  **!•  "us  Jannani 

terris  et  bonis,  preeterque  testamento 

legavit  aequa  lance  divisis  haeredes  Supra  C!Q.  j^CXXXIX 

Scripsit,  qui  Memoriae  ejus  JEtatis  vero 

Gratitudinis  suse  uitra  Clymatericum  magnum 

Pignus.  J    T    ,. 

H.     M     P.     C. 
[Hoc  monumentum  poni  curamnt.] 

Translated — Here  are  intended  the  Remains  of  Robert,  Viscount  of  Belhaven, 
Baron  of  Spot,  &c.,  Counsellor  to  King  Charles,  and  most  intimately  in  favour  with 
him ;  because  formerly  he  had  been  most  dear  to  Henry,  Prince  of  Wales,  and  Master 
of  his  horses.  But  he  being  dead,  and  Charles  his  brother  now  reigning,  he  was  made 
Chamberlain  to  the  King's  Household,  and  entertained  with  a  singular  degree  of 
favour,  and  advanced  to  great  honours  and  wealth.  In  his  youth  he  enjoyed  the 
sweet  society  of  Nicolas  Murray,  daughter  to  the  Baron  of  Abercairney,  his  only  wife ; 
who  lived  with  him  not  above  18  months,  and  Died  in  child-bed  with  her  child. 
When  grievous  old  age  came  upon  him  (as  weary  of  bad  times  and  customs),  with- 
drawing himself  from  the  noise  of  the  Court,  he  returned  to  his  country.  He  nomi- 
nated Sir  Archibald  and  Sir  Robert  Douglasses,  Barts.,  sons  to  his  eldest  brother,  his 
heirs,  dividing  equally  amongst  them  all  his  Lands  and  Goods,  except  some  Legacies ; 
and  they  erected  this  Monument  to  his  memory  as  a  token  of  their  gratitude. 

Nature  supplied  in  him  by  sagacity  what  his  mind  wanted  of  education.  He  was 
inferior  to  none  in  a  good  capacity  and  candour ;  he  would  soon  be  angry,  but  was  as 
soon  calmed.  This  one  thing  he  had  in  his  life,  which  scarcely  could  be  alike  accept- 
able to  all ;  for  loyalty  towards  his  Prince,  love  to  his  Country,  kindness  to  his  Rela- 
tions, and  charity  to  the  Poor,  he  was  singular.  In  prosperity  he  was  meek  and 
moderate;  in  adversity  his  constancy  and  magnanimity  prevailed  to  his  very  end. 
He  Died  at  Edinburgh  the  14th  day  of  January,  and  from  the  Incarnation  of  the 
Messiah  1639,  and  of  his  age  66,  being  the  third  year  above  his  great  Climacteric. 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYEOOD. 


187 


IV.  A   Slab  with  an  ornamental  Cross,  the  Stalk  of  which  passes 
through  an  elegantly  formed  Chalice.     The  Base  of  the  Stone  is  broken, 
and  no  portion  of  the  Inscription  is  legible. 

V.  A  floriated  Cross  with  an  ornamental  Base.     The  following  is  the 
Inscription    round    the    edge   of  the   Stone: — "Hie  jacet   dns.   Robertus 
Cheyne,  XII.  prior  hujusce  monasterij  qui  obiit  XVII.  die  Sept.  An.  Dni. 
MCCCCLV." 

VI.  A  plain  Cross,  surrounded  by  the  following  Inscription: — "Hie 
jacet  Marjoria  Duncan  uxor  Thome  Duncan  qui  obiit  XVI.  die  me.     Octob. 
A.D.  MC***." 

VII.  In  the  centre  is  a  Shield  between  the  Letters  M.  E.,  showing  a 
Pale  charged  with  a  Cross-Crosslet  fitchy,  issuing  out  of  a  Crescent.    Below 
the  Shield  are  a  Skull  and  a  Bone,  and  the  words,  Memento  mori.     The 
Inscription  round  the  edge  of  the   Stone  is  "Heir  lyes  ane  honourable 
woman  callit  Margaret  Erskin  Lady  Alerdes  and  Dame  XVII.  July  159*." 

VIII.  On  this  Slab  are  engraved  two  large  Two-handed  Swords,  about 
five  feet  long,  and  surrounded  by  a  Border  of  two  parallel  lines,  without 
Date  or  Inscription.     There  are  several  examples  elsewhere  of  a  single 
Sword  placed  by  the  side  of  a  Cross,  but  we  are  not  aware  of  any  other 
Stone  on  which  two  large  Swords  appear  side  by  side,  without  any  other 
Device  or  Inscription  to  explain  the  cause  of  their  united  presence.     It  has 
been  conjectured,  not  without  probability,  that  this    Slab   indicates  the 
Resting-place  of  two  Warriors  of  one  House,  brothers,  or  father  and  son, 
who  have  fallen  on  the  same  Field. 

IX.  A  floriated  Cross,  without  Date 
or  Inscription. 

X.  A    Stone   with    the    Inscription, 
"Heir  lyis  ane  Honest  man  Robert  Vo- 
therspone,    Burgis    and    Deacon    of    ye 
Hammermen  in  ye  Canogait,  R.  V.  1520." 

XI.  An  imperfect  Slab  with  a  plain 
Cross.     On  the  dexter  side  of  the  Cross 
is  a  Mallet  surmounted  by  a  Crown ;   on 
the  sinister  side  a  peculiar  and  indistinct 
Device.     The  Inscription  is  illegible,  ex- 
cept the  Date,  which  is  1543. 

XII.  The  first  part  of  the  Legend  on 
this  Slab  goes  round  the  Border  of  the 
Stone,  and  the  rest  runs  in  parallel  lines 
across  the  Body  of  it — "  Heir  lyis  ye  nobil 
and  poton  Lord  James  Dovglas,  Barnet  of 
Cairlell  and  Torthorall,  vha  marid  Daime 
Elilzabeth  Cairlell,  air  and  heritrix  yal  of; 
vha  vas  slaine  in  Edinbvrghe,  ye  xiiii  day 
of  Jvly  in  ye  zeier  of  God  1608.    Vas  slain 
in  48  ze." 

At  the  bottom  of  the  Slab  is  a  Shield, 
but,  with  the  exception  of  three  Mullets 
in  chief  on  the  dexter  side,  the  Charges 


188 


MONASTICON. 


are  obliterated.  Originally  there  were  enchased  the  Arms  of  the  House  of 
Douglas,  quartered  with  those  of  the  Noble  Family  of  Carlisle  and  Tother- 
wald,  viz.,  beneath  a  chief,  charged  with  three  pellets,  a  saltier  proper ;  the 
crest  resembling  a  rose,  but  which  is  a  star  of  the  first  order. 

Note. — This  Lord  Douglas,  who  was  only  a  Territorial  Baron,  not  a 
Peer,  was  Sir  James  Douglas  of  Parkhead,  a  nephew  of  the  Kegent 
Morton.  His  Lady  was  the  only  child  of  William,  Master  of  Carlyle, 
who  Died  in  the  lifetime  of  his  father,  Michael,  fourth  and  last  Lord 
Carlyle.  In  1596,  Sir  James  killed  Captain  James  Stewart,  Earl  of 
Arran,  and  Chancellor  of  Scotland,  an  unworthy  Favourite  of  James 
VI.,  to  avenge  the  wrongs  sustained  by  his  uncle,  the  Eegent.  Twelve 
years  afterwards,  he  himself  was  run  through  the  body  on  the  High 
Street  of  Edinburgh  by  William  Stewart,  the  nephew  of  Arran.  Sir 
James's  son  was  created  Lord  Carlyle  of  Torthorall  in  1609. 

XIII.  A  plain  Cross.     On  the  dexter  side,  a  pair  of  Compasses  over  a 
Device  which  resembles  a  Book,  and  on  the  sinister  side,  a  Carpenter's 
Square  over  a  Mallet.     All  that  is  legible  of  the  Inscription  is,  "  Hie  jacet 
honorab.  Vir  Johannes  ...  et  ...  Anno  dni  1548." 

XIV.  At  the  top  of  this  Stone  is  the  Date  1592.     Immediately  below 

is  a  Hammer  surmounted  by  a  Crown, 
and  having  the  Letters  B.  H.  on  either 
side.  Beneath,  in  the  centre  of  the  Slab, 
is  a  Shield  charged  with  a  Ship  and 
three  Cinquefoils  in  chief.  At  the  bottom 
are  the  Skull,  Bone,  and  Memento  mori. 
The  Inscription  round  the  Border  is, 
"  Heir  lyis  ane  honest  voman  calet  Marget 
Bakster,  spovs  to  Bartel  Hameltvn  Dak- 
maker  Burges  of  ye  Canengait." 

Proceeding  along  the  North  side  of 
the  Abbey,  over  a  Pavement  rich  in  Saxon 
Characters  and  Armorial  Bearings,  though 
now  miserably  dilapidated,  are  many 
Graves  unknown. 

XV.  The  first  we  meet  with,  a  little 
from  the  Vestry  Door,  is  supposed  to  have 
belonged  to  Sir  George  Sterline  of  Keir. 
The  Inscription  was  perfect  in  the  time 
of  Menteith,  who  has  copied  it  into  his 
Theater  of  Mortality,  though  little,  or 
almost  none  of  it  can  be  made  out  at  pres- 
ent (1818). 

DOM. 

Here  lyeth  Dame  Margaret  Ross,  daughter 
to  James,  'Lord  Ross ;  and  Dame  Margaret 
Scot,  daughter  of  Walter,  Lord  Buccleugh,  and  sister  to  Walter  Scot,  Earl  of 
Buccleugh.  She  was  Married  to.  Sir  George  Sterline  of  Keir,  Knight  and  Chief  of 
his  name ;  and  having  lived  a  pattern  and  paragon  for  piety,  and  debonairitie  beyond 
her  sex  and  age,  when  she  had  accomplished  17  years,  she  was  called  from  this  transi- 
tory life  to  that  eternal,  10  March  MDCXXXIII.  She  left  behind  her  only  one 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYEOOD.  189 

daughter,  Margaret,  who,  in  her  pure  innocency,  soon  followed  her  mother,  the  11  day 
of  May  thereafter,  when  she  had  been  12  months  showen  to  this  world,  and  here 
lyeth,  near  unto  her,  interred. 

D.  Georgius  Sterline  de  Keir,  eques  auratus,  families  princeps,  coniugi  dulcisshni 
poni  curavit,  MDCXXXIII. 

At  each  corner  below  five  roses,  two  and  two,  and  one  in  the  centre 
with  a  Scroll  above,  bearing  over  each  compartment  the  following  Words — 
Mors  Sentibus  quat.  Below  is  the  following  Inscription : — 

Though  marble,  porphirie,  and  mourning  touch, 

May  praise  these  spoils ;  yet  can  they  not  so  much  ;  . 

For  beauty  lost,  and  fame,  this  stone  doth  close 

One,  earth's  delight,  Heav'n's  care,  a  spotless  rose. 

And  should'st  thou  reader  but  vouchsafe  a  tear 

Upon  it  other  flow'rs  will  soon  appear, 

Sad  violets  and  hyacinths  which  grow 

With  marks  of  grief  a  publick  loss  to  shew. 

XVI.  On  a  neat  Monument  near  the  two  remaining  Pillars  on  the 
North  side,  inscribed  on  a  marble  oval  Tablet,  inserted  in  the  Stone,  the 
following  occurs : — 

Sacred  George,  Lord  Saltoun, 

To  the  Memory  of  Who  Died  on  the  13th, 

The  Eight  Honourable  And  was  interred  here 

Eleonora  On  the  18th  day  of  September,  1800, 
Dowager  Lady  Saltoun,  In  the  70th  year  of  her  age. 

Widow  of 

XVII.  Next  the  Wall  betwixt  the  Pillars,  on  a  plain  Stone,  lying  on  the 
ground,  placed  over  the  Grave  of  the  Earl  of  Selkirk : — 

Dunbar  Douglas,  Born  1st  December,  1722, 

Earl  of  Selkirk,  Died  24th  May,  1799. 

XVin.  A  little  to  the  East  of  the  above  Monument,  the  following 
Inscription  appears : — 

Under  this  stone  lye  the  remains  Barons  of  Exchequer, 

of  Scotland.    • 

The  Honourable  John  Maule,  Esq.  Died  the  2d  of  July,  1781, 

Thirty-two  years  one  of  the  Aged  75  years. 

XIX.  Still  farther  East  :— 

To  the  Memory  of  Gordon  Highlanders, 

John  Woodford,  Esq.,  Who  Died  the  18th  April,  1800, 
Late  Lieutenant-Colonel  Aged        years. 

Of  the  North  Fencibles  or 

XX.  On  a  Stone  lying  beside  the  former,  but  towards  the  South : — 

The  Eight  Honourable  And  sister  to 

Lady  Elizabeth  Wemyss,  William,  late  Earl  of  Sutherland, 

Widow  of  the  late  Honourable  Died  on  the  24th  January,  1803, 
James  Wemyss  of  Wemyss,  Aged  64  years. 

N.B. — The  intermediate  Stones  seem  to  have  been  placed  over  the 
Graves  of  the  more  opulent  Citizens  of  the  Burgh  of  Canongate,  who 
were  formerly  Interred  here  during  the  Eeign  of  "Episcopacy"  in 
Scotland. 


190  MONASTICON. 

XXI.  A  little  to  the  North-East  is  a  handsome  Monument  to  George 
Wishart,  Bishop  of  Edinburgh.  His  Arms  are  finely  cut  over  the  top  of  an 
Arched  Kecess,  viz. — On  a  Shield,  a  Bishop's  Mitre,  with  a  Pastoral  Staff 
and  Cross  of  coral,  saltier  ways.  Beneath  is  the  following  Inscription  : — 

Hie  recubat  Celebris  Doctor  Sophocardius*  alter, 

Entheus  ille  2o£o?  Kxfiiotv  Agricola. 
Orator  fervore  pio,  facundior  olim 

Doctiloquis  rapiens  pectora  dura  modis. 
Ternus  ut  Antistes  Wiseheart  ita  ternus  Edinen. 

Candoris  columen  nobile,  semper  idem. 
Plus  octogenis  liinc  gens  Sophocardia  lustris 

Summis  hie  mitris  claruit,  atq.  tholis : 
Dum  cancellarius  regni  Sophocardius  idem, 

Prsesul  erat  Fani,  Regulse,  Sanctse,  tui. 
Atque  ubi  pro  regno,  ad  Norham  contendit  avito 

Brussius,  indomita  mente  manuque  potens  ; 
Glasguus  Robertus  erat  Sopbocardius  alter, 

Pro  patria,  qui  se  fortiter  opposuit. 
Nee  pacis  studlis  Gulielmo,  animisve  Roberto, 

Agricola  inferior  csetera  forte  prior ; 
Excelsus  sine  fastu  animus,  sine  fraude  benignus 

Largus  qui  miseris,  iiitemerata  fides. 
Attica  rarafides ;  constantia  raraq.  nullis 

Expugnata,  hcet  mille  petita,  malis. 
In  regem,  obsequii  exemplar,  civisq.  fidelis, 

Antiquam  venerans,  cum  probitate,  fidem. 
Omnibus  exutum  ter,  quern  proscriptio  career 

Exilium,  lustris  non  domuere  tribus, 
Ast  reduci  CAROLO  plaudunt  ubi  regna  Secundo 

Doctori  Wiseheart  insula  plaudit  ovans. 
Olim  ubi  captivus,  squalenteq.  carcere  Igesus, 

Anno  ster  ternos,  prsesul.  lionorus  obit. 
Vixit  olympiadas  terquinas ;  Nestoris  annos 

Vovit  Edina :  obitum  Scotia  mossta  dolet. 
Gestaque  Montrosei  Latio  celebrata,  Cothurno  : 

Quantula  (prob)  tanti  sunt  monumenta  viri ! 

Translation  in  Menteitlia  "  Tlieater  of  Mortality." 

Another  famous  Doctor  Wisebeart  liere, 
Divine  George  Wiseheart  lies,  as  may  appear ; 
Great  orator,  with  eloquence  and  zeal, 
Whereby  on  hardest  hearts  he  did  prevail. 
Three  Wisehearts  Bishops,  so  the  third  was  he, 
When  Bishop  of  fair  Edinbrough's  Diocese. 
Candour  in  him  was  noble,  free  of  stain  ; 
In  cases  all  the  same  he  did  remain  ; — 
Above  four  hundred  years  great  Wiseheart's  name 
For  honours  has  pure  and  untainted  fame ; 
While  one  thereof  both  purse  and  mitre  bore, 
Chancellor  and  Bishop  near  St.  Andrew's  choir ; 
And  when  brave  Bruce  did  for  his  Nation  plead, 
At  Norliam,  with  undaunted  band  and  head, 
Then  Robert  Wiseheart  sat  hi  Glasgow's  chair, 

*  Sophocardius,  Wiseheart  or  Wishart ;  the  true  name  is  Guiscard.  They  were  descended 
from  the  Guiscards  of  Normandy,  and  came  with  Baliol,  their  Countryman.  [Vide  Irvine's 
Mem.  Scot.,  p.  228.] 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYKOOD.  191 

With  courage  for  his  bounty  singular. 
To  these  great  George  was  not  inferior, 
In  peace  and  war  elsewhere  superior ; 
High  without  pride — his  hounty  had  no  guile, 
His  charity  to  the  poor  nought  could  defile ; 
His  loyalty  untainted — faith  most  rare, 
Athenian  faith,  was  constant  everywhere. 
And  though  an  thousand  evils  did  controul, 
None  could  o'ercome  his  high  and  lofty  soul — 
To  King  and  Country  he  was  faithful  still. 

Thrice  spoil'd  and  banish'd  for  full  fifteen  years, 
His  mind  unshaken — cheerful  still  he  bears 
Deadly  proscription ;  nor  the  nasty  gaol 
Could  not  disturb  his  great  seraphic  soul. 
But  when  the  Nation's  King,  CHARLES  THE  SECOND,  blest, 
On  his  return  from  sad  exile  to  rest, 
They  then  received  great  Doctor  Wiseheart — HE 
Was  \velcome  made  by  Church  and  Laity ; 
And  where  he  had  been  long  in  prison  sore 
He  nine  years  Bishop  did  them  good  therefore. 
At  length  he  died  in  honour ;  where  his  head 
To  much  hard  usage  was  accustomed. 
He  liv'd  'hove  seventy  years — and  Edinburgh  town 
Wish'd  him  old  Nestor's  age  in  great  renown ; 
Yea  Scotland,  sad  with  grief,  condoled  his  fall, 
And  to  his  merits  gave  just  funeral. 
Montrose's  acts  in  Latin  forth  he  drew, 
Of  one  so  great,  Ah !  monuments  so  few. 

XXII.  On  the  East  side  of  Bishop  Wishart's  Monument,  a  small  neat 
Cenotaph,  with  Pillars  of  the  Corinthian  Order,  is  placed  to  perpetuate  the 
memory  of  George,  14th  Earl  of  Sutherland.  On  the  top  are  placed  the 
paternal  Arms  of  this  illustrious  House,  quartered  with  the  various  Noble 
Families  to  which  they  are  allied,  viz., — Gules,  three  stars  within  a  border,  or 
charged  with  a  double  treasure ,  flowered  and  counter-flowered  (as  a  mark  of 
the  Koyal  descent  of  the  Family  from  King  Kobert  I.)  Crest,  a  cat  sejant 
proper,  on  the  other  department  of  the  Shield  quarterly  first  and  fourth ; 
barry  of  eight  argent,  and  gules,  surmounted  by  a  cross  floree,  second  and 
third;  azure,  three  laurel  leaves  erect;  crest,  a  wolf  passant ;  motto,  Franza 
nonflectes.  On  the  Pillars  are  placed  within  circles,  Coronets  of  several  of 
the  Nobility  of  Scotland,  from  whom  they  deduce  their  maternal  lineage ; 
particularly  Gordon-,  Lennox,  Elphinstone,  Perth,  and  Eglinton. 

D.    G.    V.    SUTHERLANDLE. 

Memorise  illustrissimi  Domini,  Georgii  Sutherlandiae  comitis  et  Strathnaverniae, 
&c.  Dynastae  Sutherlandiae  et  Strathnaverniae,  jure  hereditario ;  vicecomitis  ac 
regalitatis  Domini ;  ex  sigili  magni  custodibus  unius ;  regi  Gulielmo  a  secretioribus 
consiliis,  decimi  noni  comitis  recta  linea  oriundi  ab  ALLAN  Sutherlandiaa  thano ;  quern 
Milcolumbo  tertio,  haeredi  legitimo  regnum  restituere  conantem  e  medio  sustulit 
MAGBETHUS  ;  cum  t}Tannedem  occupasset,  circum  annum  rene  CHRISTIANA  ML VII. 
Hoc  famae  perennis  monumentum  deflens  posuit  vidua,  JEANNA  VEMIA,  filiarum 
DAVIDIS,  comitis  Vemii,  natu  maxima ;  quoe  huic  comiti  peperit  JOANNEM,  nunc  Suther- 
landiae comitem,  et  ANNAM  ARBUTHNOTI  vicecomitissam ;  priori  vero  marito,  ARCHI- 
BALDO  ANGUSLE  comiti  filio  Marchionis  Duglassiorum  natu  maximo,  ARCHIBALDUM 
Forfaro  comitem,  et  MARGAITAEM  vicecomiti  de  KINGSTROUN,  in  matremomum  datam, 
quinque  alii  hujus  Dominae  liberi  impueres  decessenmt. 


192  MONASTICON. 

< 

Natus  in  arce  sua,  de  Domach  2do,  Novembris  1633,  denatus  Edinburge  4to 
Martii,  A.D.  MDCCIIL 

Translated — To  the  memory  of  the  most  illustrious  Lord  George,  Earl  of  Suther- 
land, Lord  Strathnavar,  &c.,  heritable  Sheriff  of  said  Lands,  and  Lord  of  the  Regality 
thereof ;  one  of  the  Keepers  of  the  Great  Seal,  under  the  most  renowned  Prince,  KINO 
WILLIAM,  one  of  the  Lords  of  Privy  Council,  and  the  19th  Earl  in  a  direct  line  from 
ALLAN,  Thane  of  Sutherland,  whom  MACBETH,  in  the  rage  of  his  usurping  tyranny, 
about  the  year  of  Christ  1057,  slew  for  endeavouring  to  restore  the  Kingdom  to 
MALCOLM  III.,  lawful  heir  to  the  Crown.  His  mourning  widow,  JEAN  WEMYSS,  eldest 
daughter  to  David,  Earl  of  Wemyss,  erected  this  Monument  of  lasting  fame. 

To  the  defunct  Earl  she  brought  forth  John,  now  Earl  of  Sutherland,  and  Anne, 
Viscountess  of  Arbuthnot.  And  to  her  former  husband,  Archibald,  Earl  of  Angus, 
eldest  son  to  the  Marquis  of  Douglas,  she  brought  forth  Archibald,  Earl  of  Forfar, 
and  Margaret,  given  in  marriage  to  the  Viscount  of  Kingstoun.  Five  other  children 
of  the  said  Lady  Dowager  Died  in  their  nonage.  The  Earl  himself  was  Born  in  his 
own  Castle  of  Dornoch,  2d  November,  1633,  and  Died  at  Edinburgh,  4th  March,  iTQIf?3' 

Here  are  also  deposited  the  Remains  of  William,  17th  Earl  of  Suther- 
land, and  his  amiable  Countess  Mary,  daughter  of  William  Maxwell,  Esq. 
of  Preston,  Kirkcudbright.  His  Lordship  Died  at  Bath,  June  16th,  1766, 
just  after  lie  had  completed  his  31st  year ;  and  the  Countess,  June  1st,  1766, 
in  her  26th  year,  16  days  before  the  Earl  fell  a  victim  to  his  disorder. 

"  They  were  lovely  and  pleasant  in  their  lives, 
And  in  their  deaths  they  were  not  divided." 

The  Bodies  of  this  illustrious  and  affectionate  pair  vere  brought  to 
Scotland,  and  Interred  in  one  Grave  in  Holyro.od  Abbey,  9tu  August,  1766. 

"  Beauty  and  birth  a  transient  being  have, 
Virtue  alone  can  triumph  o'er  the 'grave." 

XXIII.  Between  this  and  the  East  Wall  is  the  Countes  >  of  Eglintoune's 
Monument,    originally   a   most   beautiful  .Structure,    thoigli    now   (1818) 
miserably  dilapidated.   The  following  Inscription,  though  nenrly  obliterated, 
is  placed  within  an  Arched  Recess : — 

D.  I.  H.  of  Schattillarot,  sometyme 

Here  lyes  ane  Nobil  and  maist  Governour  of  thif  Realme. 

vertuous  Ladie,  Deame  Jeane  She  deceast  in  December, 
Hamilton,  Countas  of  Egling-  MDXCVI. 

toun,  Dochtor  to  JAMES,  Duke 

XXIV.  Two  yards  South  from  this  Monument,  is  placed  a  plain  Slab, 
with  the  following  Inscription : — 

Elizabeth  Clavering, 

Aged  10  years. 
Died  29th  June,  1799. 

XXV.  On  the  East  end  of  the  Abbey,  over  some  fm<    carved  Gothic 
Niches,  is  placed  a  small  neat  marble  Cippus,  and  four  StoE  >s  placed  in  the 
ground,  with  the  Letters  HEH,  to  the  memory  of  Henrie  ta  Drummond, 
daughter  of  George  Hay  Drummond,  Esq.,  and  son  of  tli  •  Archbishop  of 
York,  with  a  very  elegant  classical  Epitaph,  as  follows  :— 

Sacred  Son  of  Robert,  Arch  ishop  of  York, 

To  the  Memory  of  Who  departed  ihis  life 

Henrietta  Elizabeth  Hay,  Nov.  28,  1  '02, 

Daughter  of  In  the  Sixteenth  V(  ir  of  her  age. 
The  Reverend  George  Hay  Drummond, 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYEOOD.  193 

Too  pure  and  perfect  still  to  linger  here, 

Cheer" cl  with  seraphic  visions  of  the  blest, 
Smiling  she  dried  a  tender  father's  tear, 

And  poured  her  spirit  forth  upon  his  breast. 
He  bends  not  o'er  the  mansion  of  the  dead, 

Where  loveliness  and  grace  in  ruins  lie  ; 
In  sure  and  certain  hope,  he  lifts  his  head, 

And  faith  presents  her  in  her  native  sky. 

XXVI.  A  few  yards  towards  the  Centre  of  the  Chapel,  a  plain  Slab  is 
to  the  memory  of  Mary  Dunbar,  widow  of  Lord  Basil  Hamilton,  brother  to 
the  Earl  of  Selkirk,  Inscribed  as  under : — 

MARY  DUNBAR,  Died  May,  1760, 

Widow  of  Aged  86  years. 

Lord  Basil  Hamilton. 

The  fate  of  this  illustrious  Nobleman  (Lord  Basil  Hamilton)  was  truly 
lamentable.  In  the  autumn  of  1701,  he  fell  an  untimely  victim  to  his 
humanity.  His  servant  endeavouring  to  ford  the  Minnoch  (a  mountain 
torrent  in  Galloway,  then  much  swelled  by  a  sudden  rain),  when,  in  the 
emphatic  language  of  the  country,  it  was  "  Jawing  a  brown  speat,"  was 
dismounted.  Lord  Basil  rushed  in  and  seized  him ;  but  the  awful  force  of 
the  torrent  swept  both  man  and  horse  to  a  watery  grave,  in  sight  of  his 
lamenting  brother,  the  amiable  Earl  of  Selkirk,  and  several  unavailing 
spectators. 

XXVII.  Between  this  and  the  Koyal  Vault,  a  neat  Monumental  Stone, 
with  fluted  Pilasters  and  carved  Koses,  is  erected  to  Thomas  Lowe,  Esq.  of 
Ridley  Hall,  in  Northumberland,  with  this  Inscription : — 

Here  lies  the  body  of  To  seek  those  riches  which  never  can  fail, 

Thomas    Lowes,    Esq.,  And  those  pleasures 

Late  of  Ridley  Hall,  Which  are  at  God's  right  hand 

In  the  county  of  Northumberland ;  For  evermore — 

One  instance  among  thousands  The  gracious  gift  of  God,  _ 

Of  the  uncertainty  of  human  life,  And  to  be  enjoyed  through  faith 

And  the  instability  of  earthly  possessions  In  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour. 

And  enjoyments.  An  only  Daughter,  over  whom  the  deceased 

Born  to  ample  property  Had  long  watched  with  the  tenderest  care, 

He  for  several  years  experienced  And  many  Friends,  who  admired 

A  distressing  reverse  of  fortune ;  His  liberal  and  generous  mind,  unite 

And  no  sooner  was  he  restored  to  In  deploring  his  loss. 

His  former  affluence,  He  departed  this  Life 

Than  it  pleased  Divine  Providence  On  the  18th  day  of  September, 

To  withdraw  this,  together  with  his  life.  In  the  year  of  our  Lord,  1812,  and 

Reader,  In  the  61st  year  of  his  Age. 
Be  thou  taught  by  this, 

XXVIII.  In  the  South-East  corner  is  the  ROYAL  VAULT,  secured  with  a 
grated  iron  door.     It  is  destitute  of  ornament,  and  presents  no  ideas  of 
Royal  magnificence,  but  a  repulsive  dungeon. 

1.  Here  were  deposited  the  Remains  of  David  II.,  King  of  Scotland, 
having  meditated,  along  with  the  rest  of  the  Christian  nations,  an  expedition 
to  the  Holy  Land,  "Ad  dominandum  paganorum  ferocitatem," — to  subdue 
the  haughty  ferocity  of  the  Saracens ;  but  lie  was  cut  off  in  the  47th 
year  of  his  age,  and  39th  of  his  Reign,  in  the  Castle  of  Edinburgh,  and  was 
VOL.  i.  2s 


194  MONASTICON. 

Buried  near  to  the  High  Altar  in  the  Monastery  of  the  Holy  Eood,  A.D. 
MCCCLXXI.  Fordun  has  left  a  most  elaborate  Epitaph  to  his  memory, 
which  would  appear  to  have  been  Inscribed  upon  his  Sepulchre,  beginning 
as  follows : — 

Hie  Rex  sub  lapide  David  inclitus  est  tumulatus,  &c. 

(Here  lies  the  renowned  King  David  under  this  stone.) 

2.  Prince  Arthur,  third  son  of  James  IV.,  who  was  slain  at  the  Battle  of 
Floddenfield.  He  Died  in  the  Castle  of  Edinburgh,  15th  July,  1510,  aged 
nine  months. 

8.  James  V.  of  Scotland.  Died  at  the  Palace  of  Falkland,  14th  Decem- 
ber, 1542. 

4.  His  Queen,  Magdalen,  daughter  of  Francis  I.,  King  of  France.    Died 
10th  July,  1537.     [See  Pages  158-9.] 

5.  Arthur,  Duke  of  Albany,  second  son  of  James  V.     Died  at  Stirling, 
and  was  Interred  beside  his  illustrious  parent  in  the  Abbey  of  Holyrood, 
aged  eight  days. 

G.  Henry,  Lord  Darnley.  Murdered  10th  February,  15G7,  in  the  21st 
year  of  his  age.  He  was  pierced  by  56  desperate  wounds. 

7.  Jane,  Countess  of  Archibald,  fifth  Earl  of  Argyle,  natural  daughter  of 
James  V.,  by  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  John,  Lord  Carmichael.     She  was  at 
supper  with  her  sister,  Queen  Mary,  when  the  blood  of  Bizzio  was  shed  at 
her  feet,  9th  March,  15GG.     She  stood  Sponsor  for  Queen  Elizabeth  at  the 
Baptism  of  James  VI.,  for  which  she  was  afterwards  condemned  by  the 
Presbyterian  Clergy  to  do  Public  Penance  in  the  Church  of  S.  -Giles  at 
Edinburgh.     Dying  without  issue,  she  was  enclosed  in  one  of  the  richest 
coffins  ever  seen  in  Scotland,  the  compartments  and  Inscriptions  being  all  of 
solid  gold,  and  was  Interred  beside  her  Boyal  Relatives. 

8.  In  this  Vault  are  also  deposited  the  Remains  of  the  Duchess  de 
Gramont,   one   of  the   Blood   Royal ;    at  least  one  of  the  Nobles  of  that 
unfortunate  dynasty  of  the  Family  of  the  Bourbons,  who  remained  for  a 
considerable  time  in  exile  in  this  Country — many  of  whom  had  apartments 
assigned  them  by  our  Government  in  the  Palace  of  Holyroodhouse. 

Inscription  on  a  silver  plate  on  the  lid  of  the  coffin  : — 

Louise  Francoise  Gabrielle  Aglae  1708; 

de  Polignac,  Morte  le  80  Mars 
Duchesse  de  Grammont.  IHO:{. 

Nea  Paris  le  7  Mai 

9.  In  July,  1848,  the  body  of  Mary  of  Gueldres,  the  Queen  of  James 
II.,  was  removed  from  its  original  Resting-place  in  Trinity  College  Church, 
Edinburgh,   which   she  had  Founded  (which  was  then  taken  down),  and 
Re-interred  in  the  Royal  Vault. 

XXIX.  Next  to  the  Royal  Vault  is  the  Burial  Place  of  the  Family  of 
Roxburgh,  in  which  is  Interred  Jane,  Countess  of  Roxburgh,  daughter  of 
Patrick,  third  Lord  Drummond.  She  was  a  Lady  of  the  finest  accomplish- 
ments, and  was  on  that  account  preferred,  with  universal  approbation,  to  the 
important  office  of  Governess  to  the  children  of  James  VI.,  which  she 
executed  with  applause  and  satisfaction.  She  Died  October  7,  1G43,  and 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYROOD.  195 

was  Interred  in  the  Family  Vault.  Her  Funeral  was  appointed  for  the 
rendezvous  of  the  Royalists,  who  projected  that  opportunity  of  assembling 
to  massacre  the  chief  Covenanters ;  but  found  their  number  too  inconsider- 
able for  the  attempt. 

.XXX.  Adam  Bothwell,  Bishop  of  Orkney.    [See  Page  161.] 

XXXI.  In  the  Centre  of  the  Southern  Aisle,  is  a  plain  Altar-Tomb  to 
Isabella,  Countess-Dowager  of  Errol,  with  this  Inscription  :— 

In  Memory  Which  Religion  prescribes ; 

of  And  closed 

i.r.A,  In  all  tlie  hopes  which  it  inspires ! 

Countess-Dowager  of  Errol,  This  stone  is  inscribed 

Daughter  By  her  grateful  and  affectionate  Daughter, 

Of  Sir  Will.  Carr,  of  Etall,  Bart.,  AUGUSTA  CARR,  Countess  of  Glasgow. 

And  widow  of  JAMKS,  14th  Earl  of  Errol;  She  was  Bom  March  31,  1742, 

Whose  life  was  passed  And  Died  Nov.  3,  1808. 
In  the  discharge  of  all  the  duties 

XXXII.  Next  the  Countess  of  Errol's  Monument  is  that  of 

Ann  Mercer,  Who  Died  on  the  28th  of  November, 

Wife  of  Was  interred  here 

Richard  Mercer,  Esq.,  On  the  4th  of  December, 

Of  the  Kingdom  of  Ireland,  1802. 

XXXIII.  On  the  South  Wall,  opposite  to  the  middle  distance  between 
the  third  and  fourth  Pillars  from  the  East  end,  is  Hay  of  Easter  Kennet's 
Monument,  thus  Inscribed : — "  Hie  jacet  Alexander  Hay,  do  Easter-Kennat, 
clericus  registri ;  qui  obiit  19  Septembris,  A.D.  1594." 

XXXIV.  West  a  little  from  the  above,  under  a  plain  Slab,  lies — 
The  Honourable  Mary  Murray,  Died 

Daughter  of  On  the  IDth  December,  1804, 

Lord  Edward  Murray.  Aged  70  years. 

XXXV.  In  the  Passage  on  the  South  side  of  the  Chapel,  between  the 
fourth  and  fifth  Pillars  from  the  West,  and  immediately  below  the  fifth 
Window  from  the  East,  is  a  very  neat  carved  Stone  over  Bailie  Hunter  and 
his  wife.    He  is  supposed  to  have  been  of  the  Family  of  Polmood,  in  Peebles- 
shire  ;  and  the  Arms  of  that  Family  are  sculptured  on  the  Stone,  around 
which  is  this  Inscription  : — 

Heir  lyes  Kathrine  Norman, 
Thomas  Hunter,  His  Spouse, 

Baillie  in  Edinburgh,  MDCIX. 

and 

The  Aisle  on  the  Southern  Side  of  the  Abbey  Chapel  is  paved 
with  Grave  Stones,  in  a  manner  similar  to  that  on  the  North  Side.  Many 
of  them  are  highly  interesting  and  beautiful,  being  covered  with  Sculptures 
of  Saxon  Characters  and  Armorial  Bearings.  Here  is  a  Slab  towards  the 
West  end,  having  a  plain  Cross,  with  a  Chalice  on  the  sinister  side,  evidently 
to  mark  the  Grave  of  an  Ecclesiastic. 

The  STONE  COFFINS  lying  along  the  South  Wall  were  found  in  the 
Garden  in  1857.  They  probably  were  the  Sarcophagi  of  Abbots  of  the 
Monastery.  Their  Dates  may  be  between  A.D.  1200  and  1350. 


196  MONASTICON. 

On  this  side  are  deposited  the  Eemaius  of  the  following  illustrious 
Personages ;  but  whose  Monuments  have  either  been  destroyed,  or  who  have 
never  had  any  erected  to  their  memory : — 

XXXVI.  Fergus,  Lord  or  Prince  of  Galloway,  the  father  of  an  illus- 
trious House,  and  who  long  withstood  the  power  of  the  Scottish  Monarchy. 
He  was  the  Leader  of  his  Countrymen  in  the  Battle  of  the  Standard,  A.D. 
1138.     He  Married  a  natural  daughter  of  Henry  I.  of  England ;  but  having 
opposed  Malcolm  IV.  in  his  nonage,  was  forced  to  seek  an  asylum  within 
the  Walls  of  Holyrood,  where  he  Died,  and  was  Interred  with  all  the  pomp 
of  Monastic  solemnity,  A.D.  1161. 

XXXVII.  John,  Bishop  of  Candida  Casa,  or  Whithorn,  in  Galloway, 
was  contemporary  with  Alan,  Constable  of  Scotland,  in  A.D.  1189.     He  is 
styled  by  Fordun,  "  Johannis  Galvise  insula  sublimatus  est."     He  became  a 
Monk  in  the  Abbey  of  Holyrood,  A.D.  1206,  and  Died  A.D.  1209. 

XXXVIII.  John,  Bishop-Elect  of  Galloway,  became  an  Inmate  in  this 
House,  A.D.  1440,  and  was  Interred  within  its  Cloisters,  A.D.  1448. 

XXXIX.  Archibald  Crawford,  Abbot  of  Holyrood,  and  Treasurer  to 
James  III.     He  spent  the  greatest  part  of  his  princely  income  in  beautifying 
this  stately  Church,  though  neither  Tomb  nor  Inscription  remain  to  testify 
to  the  world  that  such  virtue  did  exist. 

XL.  David  Fleming,  Lord  Biggar  and  Cmnbernauld,  having  attended 
Prince  James  of  Scotland  to  the  Bass  in  Feb.,  A.D.  1405.  After  seeing  him 
safe  on  board  the  Vessel  that  was  to  convey  him  to  France,  he  was,  on  his 
return  home,  attacked  and  killed  at  Longherdmanstoun,  a  few  miles  west 
from  Edinburgh,  by  James  Douglas  of  Balveny,  afterwards  seventh  Earl  of 
Douglas,  and  was  Interred  in  the  Abbey  Church,  where  was  a  splendid 
Monument  to  his  memory,  destroyed  by  the  infuriated  soldiery  in  the  Crom- 
well Usurpation.  His  virtues  and  place  of  Sepulture  are  thus  narrated  by 
the  metrical  Prior  of  Lochleven : — 

"  Sencc  Davy  Fleming  of  Cumbernald, 
Lord,  a  Knycht  baith  stout  ani  bald, 
Trowit  and  livit  wcl  with  the  Kyng, 
This  ilke  glide  and  gentil  Knyclite 
That  was  baith  manfu'  leid  and  wychte 
Mes  crnely  mangled  in  liys  blude, 
And  now  is  layde  in  Halyrude." 

He  Granted  an  Annual  Eent  of  25  Merks  Sterling  out  of  his  Lands  at 
Biggar,  to  the  Monks  of  this  Abbey,  pro  salute  animi  sempiterni.  [Chart. 
Sauct.  Crucis.] 

XLI.  Andrew  Fairfowl,  son  of  John  Fairfowl,  of  the  Town  of  An- 
struther,  was  first  Chaplain  to  the  Earl  of  Kothes,  then  Minister  at  North 
Leith,  and  afterwards  at  Dunse,  in  Berwickshire.  It  is  reported  that  King 
Charles  II.,  having  heard  him  preach  several  times  when  he  was  in  Scotland 
in  1650,  was  pleased,  upon  his  Kestoration,  to  enquire  after  Mr.  Fairfowl, 
and  accordingly  preferred  him  to  the  See  of  Glasgow,  14th  November,  1661, 
where  he  was  specially  Consecrated  the  ensuing  year.  These  Ecclesiastical 
honours  he  did  not  long  enjoy,  having  sickened  the  very  day  of  riding  the 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYROOD.  107 

Parliament,  in  November,  1663,  and  Died  a  few  days  after.  He  was 
Interred  on  the  llth  of  the  same  month  in  the  Abbey  Church  of  Holyrood- 
house,  universally  regretted. 

XLII.  John  Paterson,  Bishop  of  Galloway,  was  Translated  to  the  See 
of  Edinburgh,  A.D.  1680,  in  which  he  continued  till  1687,  when  he  was 
Translated  to  the  Archi-Episcopal  See  of  Glasgow,  of  which  he  was  Deprived 
at  the  Revolution.  He  Died  at  Edinburgh,  on  Wednesday,  December  8, 
1708,  in  the  76th  year  of  his  age,  and  was  Interred  near  the  Oriel  in  Holy- 
rood. 

XLIII.  The  Honourable  Lord  Robert  Kerr.     A  plain  Grave  Stone. 

XLIV.  George  Douglas,  natural  son  of  Archibald,  Earl  of  Angus,  was 
Bishop  of  Moray,  A.D.  1573,  and  Died  1580,  and  was  Interred  in  the 
Cloisters  of  Holyrood. 

XLV.  Judge  Smith,  one  of  the  English  Commissioners  during  the 
Protectorate  of  the  Duke  of  Somerset,  Died  at  Inverness,  October  6.  His 
Corpse  was  brought  to  Edinburgh,  and  Interred  in  the  Abbey  Church,  12th 
October,  1657,  by  Torch-light. 

XLYI.  James  Sommerville  of  Drum,  a  Lieutenant- Colonel  in  the 
French  and  Venetian  Service,  twentieth  in  descent  from  Schir  Gualtier  de 
Sommervil,  and  tenth  Lord  of  that  Ilk,  Died  at  Edinburgh,  January  3, 
1677,  in  the  82d  year  of  his  age,  and  was  Interred  "  by  his  ladye's  syde,  in 
the  Abbey  Church  of  Hollyrudhouse,  maist  of  the  nobilitie  and  gentrie  in 
towne  being,  with  two  hundred  torches,  present  at  the  interrement." 

XL VII.  Lady  Mary  Kerr,  daughter  of  Robert,  first  Marquis  of  Lothian, 
and  Marchioness  of  Douglas,  and  mother  of  Archibald,  first  Duke  of 
Douglas.  She  Died  at  Edinburgh,  January  22,  1736,  in  the  58th  year  of 
her  age. 

XL VIII.  Also,  in  the  same  Recess,  is  Buried  Lady  Jane  Douglas, 
daughter  of  the  above.  She  was  Born  at  Douglas  Castle,  17th  March, 
1698,  and  Died  at  Edinburgh,  November  22,  1753,  in  the  56th  year  of  her 
age.  She  was  Married  in  1746  to  Sir  John  Stewart  of  Grandtully,  to  whom 
she  bore  Sholto  Thomas  Stewart,  who  Died  at  Edinburgh,  14th  May,  1753, 
in  the  5th  year  of  his  age,  and  reposes  by  the  side  of  his  illustrious  parent. 

XLIX.  Henry  David,  tenth  Earl  of  Buchan,  Died  at  Walcot,  near 
Bath,  December  1,  1767,  in  the  58th  year  of  his  age,  and  was  Buried  21st 
December,  in  the  Abbey  Church  of  Holyrood.  Also,  his  Lady,  Agnes, 
daughter  of  Sir  James  Stewart  of  Goodtrees ;  and  their  eldest  son,  David, 
Lord  Cardross,  who  Died  at  Edinburgh,  4th  October,  1747,  in  the  7th  year 
of  his  age. 

L.  Honourable  John  Lord  Drummond,  who,  on  the  death  of  his 
nephew  in  1747,  assumed  the  Title  of  the  Duke  of  Perth.  Died  at  Edin- 
burgh, 27th  October,  1757,  and  was  Interred  in  the  Abbey  Church. 

LI.  Lady  Susan  Hamilton,  third  daughter  of  John,  Earl  of  Ruglen, 
Countess  of  Cassilis,  Died  at  Barnton,  February  8, 1763,  in  the  64th  year  of 
her  age,  and  was  Buried  here. 


198 


MONASTICON. 


LII.  The  Hon.  Francis  Hay,  second  son  of  Francis,  eighth  Earl  of  Errol, 
by  Lady  Elizabeth  Douglas,  youngest  daughter  of  "William,  Earl  of  Morton. 
Died  March  14,  1632,  aged  34,  and  is  Buried  in  the  Nave  of  the  Monastery 
of  Holyroodhouse. 

LIU.  The  Honourable  Lady  Frances  Hay,  daughter  of  James,  fourteenth 
Earl  of  Errol,  Died  at  Edinburgh,  29th  August,  1806,  in  the  34th  year  of 
her  age,  and  is  here  Interred. 

LIV.  Sir  William  Hamilton  of  Whitelaw,  one  of  the  Senators  of  the 
College  of  Justice,  and  Lord  Justice-Clerk,  was  interred  here,  A.D.  1750. 


List  of  the  principal  Nobility  and  Gentry  Buried  in  Holy  rood  Abbey  Chapel, 
but  who  hare  no  Monuments. 


John,  Lord  Bellenden, 

John,  Lord  Lindores, 

James  Carnegie,  Earl  of  Fiiiliaven, 

Lady  Helen  Anstruther  of  Anstruther,  ... 

Hon.  Thomas  Hay,  Esq.,  son  to  the  Earl  of  Errol,  ... 

Earl  of  Dimmore, 

Lord  Anstruther, 

Elizabeth,  Countess  of  Crawford, 

Anne  York,  Lady  Newark,   ... 

Dame  Isobel  M'Kenzie,  Countess  of  Seafortli, 

Right  Hon.  Lord  Kinnaird,  ... 

David  Weimys,  Lord  Elcho, 

James  Douglas,  Earl  of  Morton, 

Lord  Semple, 

Sir  Alex.  Grant  of  that  Ilk, 


The  Right  Hon.  Sir  Archibald  Sinclair 


Advocate,  Lord  High 


Sheriff  of  Edinburgh,. . . 
Lady  Margaret  Baillie, 
Lady  Jane  Muir,  Countess  of  Glasgow,  .. 
Dame  Elizabeth,  Lady  Cardross, 
Lady  Mary  M'Kenzie,  ...  ...  '.. 

Lady  Mary  Drummond,  Countess  of  Marischal, 

William,  Lord  Forbes, 

Robert  Douglas,  Earl  of  Morton, 

Hemy  Maule,  Earl  of  Panmure, 

Lady  Jane  Hutchison,  Countess  of  Ruglen  [Rutlierglen] . 

James  Lyon  Bowes,  Earl  of  Strathmore, 

David   Crawford,  Esq.,  principal  Clerk  of  all  the  Notaries  in 

North  Britain, 
Lady  Henrietta  Livingstone, 

Lady  Charlotte  Cochrane,  daughter  to  the  Earl  of  Dundonald, ... 
Lady  Jane  Maitland, 
Lady  Jane  Mercer  of  Aldie, ... 
J.  MDonald,  Esq.  of  Glengarry, 
David  Hay,  Esq.  of  Leyo,     ... 
Lady  Margaret  Hamilton  of  Bolcloim ,    . . . 

Hon.  Miss  Anne  Botliwell,  daughter  to  Henry,  Earl  of  Bothwell, 
Right  Hon.  Countess  of  CassiUs, 
Lady  Jane  Maitland. 


2<1  Nov.  170(5 

17th  Jan.  — 06 

24th  March  —07 

22d  April  —08 

4th  Jan.  —09 
12th  May  —10 

3d  Feb.  —11 
20th  Feb.  —11 
28th  Feb.  —  13 
18th  July  —15 

:kl  April  —15 
llth  Dec.  —15 
14th  Dec.  —15 

4th  Aug.  —16 

22d  Aug.  —1!) 

24th  Aug.  —10 

24th  June  —20 

14th  Sept.  —24 

1st  Feb.  —25 

2d  Feb.  —26 

14th  March  —21) 
28th  June  —30 
14th  Dec.  —30 
25th  June  —34 

16th  March  —34 
18th  Jan.  —35 

•28th  Feb.  —36 

26th  May  —3!) 

10th  Feb.  —40 

14th  Feb.  —47 

17th  Dec.  —40 

3d  Sept.  —54 

30th  March  —60 

22d  May  —60 

1st  Nov.  — (52 

14th  Feb.  —63 

6th  April  —(56 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYKOOD.  199 

Lady  Catharine  Wood,          ...                ...                ...  ...  9th  Oct.  1770 

James  Erskine,  Esq.  of  Mar,  Knt.  Mar.  of  Scotland,  ...         3d  March* 85 

Lady  Margaret  Murray,  daughter  to  Lord  Viscount  Storraont, 

and  sister  to  the  Earl  of  Mansfield,                 ...  ...  21st  April  — 85 

David  Stewart  Moncrief,  Esq.  of  Moredeen,  one  of  the  Honour- 
able the  Barons  of  Exchequer,     ...                 ...  ...  17th  April — 90 

Lady  Jane  Sinclair  of  Barrock,               ...                 ...  ...           5th  Dec. 91 

Sir  Alexander  Hay  of  Park, ...                 ...                 ...  ...           4th  Feb. 92 

Right  Hon.  Lady  Frances  Leslie,           ...                ...  ...  (ith  Oct. — !)2 

Right  Hon.  Countess  of  Cassilis,             ...                 ...  ...            1st  Jan. 94 

Sir  William  Gordon  of  Gordonstone,       ...                 ...  ...        5th  March 95 

Lady  Francis  Montgomery,  ...                 ...                 ...  ...  o oth  Jan.  — 99 

Charles  Hamilton,  Esq.,       ...                 ...                 ...  ...  12th  April  1800 

Hon.  Mrs.  Anstruther  of  Anstruther,      ...                 ...  ...  3d  May — 14 

The  Hon.  Miss  Euphemia  Stewart,        ...                ...  ...  21st  Feb. — 17 


In  the  Churchyard  of  Holyrood  are  placed  a  few  plain  Cippuses,  on 
Grave  Stones,  with  the  following  Inscriptions : — 

I.  Hie  habentur  reliquiae  Nicolai  Patersoni 
Nobilissimo  Joanni,  inctyto  Rothusiae  Comiti 

Clarissimo  Scotorum  proregi, 

a  Secretioribus  Ministris, 
Obiit  postridie  Iduum  Decebr.  MDCLXV. 

Translation — Here  are  deposited  the  Remains  of  Nicol  Paterson,  Secretary  to 
the  most  noble  John,  Earl  of  Rothes,  illustrious  Viceroy  of  Scotland.  He  Died  the 
30th  of  December,  10G5. 

To  weep  for  him  that's  gone  is  surely  folly : 
To  rest  in  hope  is  best,  in  spirits  holy. 

You  see  that  neither  youth,  nor  strength,  nor  beauty, 
Can  privilege  one  man  from  nature's  duty. 
Howe'er  let  none  pass  by  without  resent, 
To  Death  itself  for  his  death  doth  repent. 

II.  On  JOHN  PATEKSON. 

Memoriae  dilictissimi  conjugis  Joannis  Patersoni 
Qui  cum  suavissimo  matriinonii  vinculo 
XXXV.  plus  minus  annos  transegisset 
Et  aliquoties  Balivi  munere  in  vico  (Canongate) 
Functus  esset.     Obiit  anno  Christ!  MDCLXIII. 
Apr.  XXIII.,  rctatis  LXIII.    Amoris  et  officii  ergo 

Monumentum  hoc  dicavit  Agneta  Lyall. 
Qua  htec  ipsa  obiit  A.D.  MDCLXIV.  Ap.  XXIII.  aetatis  LXI. 
Ecce  Patersoni  mortis  sicura  secunda, 
Mens  peregrinantes  quae  peregaiida  monet. 

Translation — To  the  memory  of  her  most  beloved  husband,  John  Paterson,  who, 
after  he  had  lived  about  35  years  in  the  sweet  bond  of  wedlock,  and  had  frequently 
discharged  the  office  of  Bailie  in  the  Caiioiigate,  Died  in  the  year  of  Christ  10G3,  in 
the  03d  j^ear  of  his  age.  In  token  of  her  love  and  affection,  Agnes  Lyell  did  erect 
this  Monument.  She  also  Died  April  23,  1004,  in  the  Gist  year  of  her  age. 

Lo  !  Patersoii's  kind  ghost  redeem'd  from  hell, 
To  sojourners  their  duty  clear  doth  tell. 


200  MONASTICON. 

Stay  passenger !  Consider  well,  See  then  to  sin  thou  daily  die  : 

That  thou  ere  long  with  me  must  dwell.  So  shallt  thou  live  eternallie. 

Endeavour  then  whilst  thou  hast  breath,  And  serve  the  Lord  with  all  thy  might : 

HOAV  to  avoid  the  second  death :  The  day's  far  spent  fast  comes  the  night. 

For  on  this  moment  do  depend  Mark  well,  my  son,  what  here  you  read : 

Torments  or  pleasures  without  end.  The  best  advice  is  from  the  dead. 

III.  Near  the  above,  upon  a  flat  Stone,  the  following  occurs : — 

Here  lies  Mary  Moss,  daughter  to  Edward  Moss,  who 

departed  this  life  in  the  year  of  God  1071, 

Aged  18. 

Here  lies  interred  chaste  beauty's  maid,  Transformed  now  is  unto  dust, 

In  whom  death  virtue  hath  betray'd,  Had  the  respect  of  all  in  trust. 

Meek,  modest,  mild,  sweet  Mary  Moss,  From  wedlock's  hope  divorced  here. 

Perfection's  flower  in  primely  bloss,  Turn,  reader,  turn,  and  drop  a  tear. 

IV.  On  a  Stone  close  by,  erected  to  Eichard  and  Eobert  Henderson,  is 
Inscribed  thus : — 

Two  bretheren,  Hendersons,  here  lye  below, 

Sons  to  Alexander  Henderson  Gardiner, 
Struck  in  the  prime  of  youth  by  death's  sad  blow. 

Richard  could  write  and  read,  Robert  could  cure. 

Their  arts,  strength,  stature,  seemed  them  to  secure 
Longer  from  this  attack ;  but  we  may  see 
Nothing  impedes  the  course  of  destiiiie. 

Richard,  died  the  30th  Nov.,  1077.     His  age  33. 
Robert  died  21st  June,  1080.     His  age  23. 

The  above  Stone  was  removed  about  1804. 

V.  On  the  Eastern  Exterior  of  the  Church  is  placed  a  small  plain 
Tablet,  with  the  following  Inscription : — 

To  the  Memory  of  Anna  Fouler. 
Two  virtuous  hands,  one  truth  expressing  tongue, 

A  furnished  heart  with  Piety,  faith,  and  love  ; 
A  fruitful  womb,  whence  hopeful  males  are  sprung ; 
Two  lust-free  eyes, — thoughts  tending  far  above 
The  reach  of  nature, — motionless  become, 
Rest  peaceably  into  the  earthly  tomb. 

She  died  9th  May,  1045,  of  her  age  48. 

VI.  A  small  distance  from  here,  towards  the  South-East,  was  placed  a 
double  Tablet  against  the  Garden  Walls  of  the  Palace ;  but  the  Garden 
Wall  being  removed,  it  is  now  placed  on  the  East  end  of  the  Chapel,  and 
bears  a  Latin  Inscription  upon  the  one  side,  and  an  English  one  on  the 
other,  as  follows : — 

D.  0.  M. 

Gulielmo  Gramo  de  Hilton,  et  Margaretae  Consorti  suae,  suisque  terrena 
animae,  indumenta  cum  fata  vocaverint,  hie  deponi,  concessum  fait  Oto  cal.  Sept., 
1046.  Hoc  in  cimeterio  conditur  hactinus  progenies  tota ;  Alexander,  Margareta, 
Maria,  una,  atque  alteri  liberi  quidem,  non  posteri  sed  parentum  suorum,  ut  in  morte, 
ita  in  vita  et  haereditate  ilia ;  aeterna  antecessores.  O  quaiii  fluxa  res  Immana,  spes 
lubrica  et  mortalitates  snepe  prarpostera!  O  vitae  fugacis  curriculum  breve  in  quo 
viator  haec  legens  sistis  nee  sistis  ! 


ABBEY  OF  HOLYKOOD. 


201 


Translation — Granted,  by  permission,  to  Captain  William  Graham  of  Hiltoun, 
and  Margaret  Stewart,  his  Spouse,  as  a  place  of  Sepulture  for  them  and  their 
children,  in  which  they  may  lay  down  the  earthly  tabernacle  of  their  souls,  when  God 
shall  call  them  by  death.  Here  already  are  Buried  their  whole  offspring,  Alexander, 
Margaret,  and  Mary,  and  their  other  children.  Not  posthumous,  but  forerunners  to 
their  parents  in  death ;  as  also  to  an  everlasting  inheritance — to  eternal  life.  O  how 
uncertain  are  all  human  affairs !  the  hope  of  them  perishing,  and  mortality  fleeting 
and  transitory. 

Short  race  of  life,  by  time's  all  dread  command, 
Thou  reader,  halteth  not,  though  here  thou  stand. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  Stone  is  the  following : — 


Mind,  Passenger,  thy  going  hence 
From  Captain  Graham  his  providence ; 
Nor  envy  thou  this  little  stone — 
Here  is  no  proud  Mausoleon ; 
But  rather  emulate  his  hopes, 
In  which  he  earth  far  overtops 
Nilus'  vast  Pyramids.    Lo,  here 
A  wardrobe  for  his  soul's  attire 
He  doth  provide.     He  trusts  at  last 
This  coat  incarnate  not  to  cast, 


But  lay  it  off.     The  world  may  burn 
Yet  shall  his  ashes  from  his  urn 
Muster  his  outside,  and  present 
Christ's  all  monarchick  parliament. 

William  Graham. 

ANAGKAM. 

Ah  me !  I  gravel  am  and  dust, 
And  to  the  grave  descend  I  must. 
O  painted  piece  of  living  clay, 
Man,  be  not  proud  of  thy  short  day. 


VII.  To  the  East  of  the  Chapel,  on  the  site  of  the  Choir,  stands  a 
small  neat  Monument  erected  to  Alexander  Milne,  King's  Architect  for 
Scotland,  Inscribed  as  follows  : — 

Tarn  arte,  quam  arte. 
A.  M. 

In  clarissinium  virum,  Alexandrum  Milnum,  lapicidam 
Egregium,  hie  sepultum,  Anno  Dom.  1643,  Feb.  20. 

Siste  Hospes  ;  clams  jacet  hoc  sub  marmore  Milnus  ; 

Dignus  cui  Pharius,  conderet  ossa  labor  : 
Quod  vel  in  sere  Myron  fudit.  vel  pinxit  Appelles, 

Artifice  hoc  potuit  hie  lapicida  manu. 

Sex  lus^ris  tantum  vixit  (sine  labe).  senectam 

Prodidit :  et  mediam  clauserat  ille  diem. 

Translation. 

In  this  place  is  Buried  a  worthy  man  and  an 
Ingenious  Mason,  Alexander  Milne,  20th  February,  A.D.  1643. 

Stay  Passenger,  here  famous  Milne  doth  rest, 
'Worthy  in  Egypt's  Marble  to  be  drest ; 
What  Myron  or  Appelles  could  have  done 
In  brass  or  paintr}7 — that  could  he  in  stone. 
But  thretty  yeares  he  (blameless)  lived :  old  age 
He  did  betray,  and  in's  prime  left  this  stage. 

Eenewed  by  Eobert  Mylne,  Architect,  MDCCLXXVI.  This  Monument 
was  removed  in  1857  to  the  North-East  corner  of  the  Chapel  Boyal,  and,  in 
its  place,  a  flat  Tombstone  was  substituted. 

In  Greyfriars'  Churchyard  is  a  splendid  Monument  to  John  Milne, 
father  of  him  who  built  the  Palace,  with  a  laboured  Epitaph,  noticing  that 
he  was  sixth  Eoyal  Master  Mason  to  seven  successive  Kings  of  Scotland  in  a 
direct  line. 

VOL.  i.  2  c 


202  MONASTICON. 

VIII.  John  Craw,  W.S.,  Bailie  of  Holyroodhouse,  Died  23d,  and  was 
Interred  in  the  Chapel  Koyal  the  30th  March,  1816. 

IX.  On  the  East  side  was  the  Grave  Stone  of  the  Rev.  George  Lesly, 
Minister  of  the  Church  of  Holyroodhouse,  1656. 


VALUATION    OF    THE    ABBEY    OF    HOLYEOOD. 

Money,  £2926  8s  Qd.  Wheat,  27  Chalders,  10  Bolls ;  Bear,  40  Chal- 
ders,  9  Bolls ;  Oats,  34  Chalders,  15  Bolls,  3  Firlots,  3£  Pecks ;  Capons, 
501  N. ;  Hens,  24  N. ;  Salmon,  24  N. ;  Salt,  12  Loads ;  Swine,  3  N.  K. 

The  Cells  or  Priories  dependent  on  the  Abbey  were  S.  Mary's 
Isle,  in  Galloway,  whose  Prior  was  a  Lord  of  Parliament; 
Blantyre,  in  Clydesdale,  which  must  have  existed  before  1296, 
since  "Frere  William,  Priour  de  Blauntyr,"  swore  allegiance  to 
Edward  I.  in  that  year — [Ragman  Rolls,  p.  166] ;  Kowadill,  in 
the  Isle  of  Herries,  said  by  Spottiswoode  to  have  been  Founded 
by  one  of  the  M'Leods  of  Harries ;  Colonsay,  planted,  according 
to  the  same  authority,  by  the  Lord  of  the  Isles,  with  Canons 
from  Holyrood ;  and  Crusay  and  Oransay,  believed  to  have  been 
originally  two  of  those  Island  Lamps,  lit  by  the  hand  of  S. 
Columba,  to  shed  a  holy  light  across  the  Western  waters. 

XI.  SAINT  MARY'S  ISLE,     Cir.  A.D.  1129, 

One  mile  below  Kirkcudbright,  in  Galloway,  was  Founded  in 
the  Keign  of  Malcolm  IV.,  or  rather  David  I.,  by  Fergus,  Lord 
of  Galloway,  and  called  "  Prior atus  Sanctae  Mariae  de  Trayll" 
The  Prior  hereof  was  a  Lord  and  Member  of  Parliament.  The 
Lidderdails  possessed  this  Isle  for  upwards  of  a  Century,  who 
derived  it  from  the  last  Prior  of  that  name,  who  was  said  to  be 
the  first  person  at  the  "  Reformation"  who  got  the  Pope's  leave 
to  become  "Protestant"  outwardly,  but  "  Catholic ;'  secretly,  in 
order  that  they  of  "  the  true  Keligion"  might  have  some  wealth 
the  better  to  support  the  Cause  opportunely.  This  Priory  has 
been  entirely  demolished ;  but,  near  its  Site,  there  remains  an 
eight-sided  Second- Pointed  Font,  with  an  Inscription  on  the 
Margin,  and  Animals  and  Shields  sculptured  on  the  Sides.  The 


PRIORY  OF  S.  MARY'S  ISLE.  203 

Site  of  the  Priory  was  on  a  beautiful  Peninsula,  which  is  formed 
by  the  influx  of  the  Sea  at  the  mouth  of  the  Dee,  and  which 
appears  to  have  been  completely  insulated  in  former  times  by 
every  flow  of  the  Tide.  This  Peninsula  was  called  the  Isle  of 
Trahill,  or  Trayl,  the  Priory  Founded  on  it  having  been  Dedi- 
cated to  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary ;  and  hence  it  acquired  the 
popular  name  of  S.  Mary's  Isle. 

Fergus  Granted  the  Isle  of  Trahil,  with  the  Priory  Founded 
on  it,  to  the  Monastery  of  Holyrood,  where  he  Died  A.D.  1161 ; 
and  the  Priory  of  S.  Mary's  Isle  thus  became  a  dependent  Cell 
of  Holyrood  Abbey.  The  Grant  by  Fergus  of  the  Isle  of  Trahil 
was  Confirmed  to  the  Monastery  of  Holyrood  by  John,  Bishop  of 
Galloway,  between  1200  and  1206.  The  Prior  of  S.  Mary's  Isle 
was  a  Lord  of  Parliament,  like  other  Priors ;  and  he  sat  in  the 
pretended  Parliament  of  1560,  when  the  "  Confession  of  Faith  " 
was  settled  under  the  authority  of  a  doubtful  Treaty.  Mr.  Kobt. 
Eichardson  was  Presented  to  the  Priory  of  S.  Mary's  Isle  on  the 
30th  March,  1558,  in  the  place  of  Kobert  Strivelin,  the  last 
Prior,  deceased.  Kichardson  was  appointed  the  Koyal  Treasurer 
by  the  Queen  Kegent  in  1559,  and  he  held  that  Office  till  1571. 
In  1572,  the  Lands  which  belonged  to  the  Priory  of  S.  Mary's 
Isle  were  Granted  in  Feu  Firm,  by  the  Commendator  of  that 
Priory,  to  James  Lidderdail  and  Thos.  Lidderdail  (referred  to 
already),  and  this  Grant  was  Confirmed  by  a  Charter  from  the 
King,  on  4th  November,  1573.  The  Property  thus  Granted 
consisted  of  the  2J  Mark-Lands  called  S.  Mary's  Isle,  with  the 
Manor,  Wood,  and  Fish-yare  [Fishery]  of  the  same;  the  10  Mark- 
Lands  of  Grange,  with  the  Mill,  the  Mill  Lands,  and  Pertinents ; 
the  10  Mark-Lands  of  Torrs ;  and  the  7J-  Mark-Lands  of  Little 
Galtway — reserving  from  this  last  8  Acres  of  Land  contiguous  to 
the  Old  Church  of  Little  Galtway,  for  the  use  of  the  Minister. 
This  Grant  was  made  by  Mr.  Kobert  Kichardson,  Usufructuary, 
and  William  Rutherford,  Commendator,  of  the  Priory  of  S. 
Mary's  Isle.  [Privy  Seal  Reg.,  xll.,  138.]  They  also  Granted  in 
1572  to  Lidderdail  and  his  son,  a  Lease  for  19  years,  from  Whit- 
sunday, 1574,  of  the  spiritual  Property  of  the  Priory,  consisting 
of  the  Tithes,  Revenues,  and  Lands  of  the  Parish  Churches  that 


204 


MONASTICON. 


belonged  to  it,  and  also  the  Tithes  of  the  Priory  Lands.  The 
Parish  Churches  which  belonged  to  this  Priory  were  those  of 
Galtway  and  of  Anworth,  in  the  Stewartry  of  Kirkcudbright,  and 
Kirkmadin,  in  Wigtonshire.  The  Priory  was  surrounded  by  high 
Walls.  The  outer  Gate  stood  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
from  the  Priory;  and  the  place  where  it  stood  is  still  called  the 
Great  Cross.  The  inner  Gate  led  immediately  to  a  group  of 
Cells,  where  the  Monks  lived ;  and  the  place  where  it  stood  is 
called  the  Little  Cross.  Every  vestige  of  the  Buildings  has  long 
been  obliterated,  and  the  whole  of  its  extensive  Site  is  now  occu- 
pied by  the  fine  Seat  of  the  Earl  of  Selkirk. 

The  famous  Paul  Jones  landed  on  S.  Mary's  Isle  in  1778, 
hoping  to  take  captive  the  Earl  of  Selkirk,  who  happened  to  be 
absent ;  and  the  Countess  could  offer  no  resistance  to  the  plun- 
dering of  silver  plate,  &c.  Jones'  father  was  Gardener  here. 

CHAET    OF    THE    FOUNDATION    OF    THE    PBIOKY    OF    TRAIL. 


Hec  est  Hysteria  Fundacionis  Prio- 
ratus  Insule  de  Traile,  et  quo- 
modo  Fergusius,  magnus  Domi- 
nus  Galwidie,  fundator  eiusdem, 
optinuit  pacem  regis  Dauid,  et 
dedit  eandem  insulam  et  alia  domi- 
nia  Monasterio  Sancte  Crucis,  et 
in  eodem,  religiosus  effectus,  se- 
pultus  est. 

Crescenti  structura  monasterij 
Sancte  Crucis  prope  Edinburgh,  per 
sanctum  Dauid  regem  felicissimum, 
contigit  Fergusium,  comitem  et 
magnum  dominum  Galwidie  regie 
maiestati  deliquisse,  et  grauem  in- 
currisse  offensam,  vnde  rex  nimirum 
commotus,iusticie  execucionemcum 
rigore  in  eum  exercere  disposuit. 
Hie  Fergusius  Deo  multum  deuotus, 
et  non  obstante  culpa  casuali  com- 
missa,  regi  semper  fidelis,  sciens 
regem  in  execucione  iusticie  con- 
stantissimum,  timuit  ualde,  et  mul- 
tis  modis  ac  diuersis  medijs  regis 
graciam  laborabat  recuperare.  Tan- 
dem nutu  diuino  inspiratus,  mutato 


This  is  the  History  of  the  Founda- 
tion of  the  Priory  of  the  Island 
of  Trail,  and  how  Fergus,  Great 
Lord  of  Galloway,  the  Founder 
thereof,  obtained  pardon  from 
King  David,  and  gave  that  Island 
and  other  Possessions  to  the 
Monastery  of  Holyrood,  and  how, 
having  become  one  of  the  Eeli- 
gious,  he  was  Buried  therein. 

When  the  Fabric  of  the  Monas- 
tery of  Holyrood,  near  Edinburgh, 
was  progressing  under  S.  David,  a 
most  happy  Monarch,  it  happened 
that  Fergus,  Earl  and  Great  Lord 
of  Galloway,  failed  in  his  duty  to 
his  Majesty,  and  committed  a  griev- 
ous fault ;  at  which  the  King,  evi- 
dently very  angry,  determined  to 
put  the  law  in  force  rigorously 
against  him.  This  Fergus,  being 
very  much  devoted  to  God,  and, 
notwithstanding  his  accidental  fault, 
always  faithful  to  the  King,  know- 
ing that  the  King  was  most  deter- 
mined in  the  execution  of  justice, 
was  very  much  afraid,  and  in  many 


PKIOKY  OF  S.  MARY'S  ISLE. 


205 


habitu,  et  modo  secretissimo,  Al- 
winum  aduenit  abbatem  monasterij 
Sancte  Crucis,  regis  confessorem  et 
secretarium  confisum,  eius  consili- 
um  et  auxilium  habiturus.  Abbas 
igitur,  super  dicto  penitente  Domino 
Fergusio  compaciens,  ad  optinendam 
eidem  regis  graciam  Deum  depre- 
catus  est-;  et  quia  sane  nouit  in  re 
gesta  pro  iusticia  fienda  regis  con- 
stanciana  esse  terribilem,  pro  eo 
interpellare  temere  metuebat.  Tan- 
dem utrorumque  Fergusij  et  abbatis 
ingenio  compertum  est,  quod  dictus 
Dominus  Fergusius  habitum  claus- 
tralem  canonici  regularis  indueret, 
et  sic,  Deo  dirigente,  sub  palliata 
supplicacione,  una  cum  fratribus 
regis  pacem  et  offense  remissionem 
optinere  possit.  Hoc  eorum  pro- 
positum  Deo  committentes,  diem  et 
horam  prestolantur  conuenienciores 
regem  in  hac  re  abbate  allocuturo. 
Quadam  die  solito  more  regem  con- 
structores  fui  egregij  monasterij 
visitantem,  abbas  placenti  hora  al- 
loquitur,  "  0  clementissime  princeps 
et  fundator,  nos  licet  indigni  ora- 
tores  et  capellani  conuentuales,  ob 
vulnera  nostrarum  transgressionum 
spirituali  curanda  remedio,  tue  cel- 
situdinis  presenciam  in  capitulo 
plurimum  haberesupplicamus."  Ad 
hoc  clemens  princeps  summe  con- 
tentus,  hora  capifculari  fratribus  in 
ordine  collocatis,  capitulum  ingredi- 
tur,  sedet  in  medio,  fratribus  ad 
ianuam  in  terram  prostratis.  Abbas 
sic  inquit :  "0  graciosissime  prin- 
ceps nos  oratores  tue  celsitudinis, 
confitentes  nostra  delicta,  nos  reos 
esse  et  transgressores,  in  uisceribus 
lehsu  Cristi  humilime  deprecamur, 
ut  nobis  et  nostrum  vnicuique  omne 
delictum  et  offensam  tue  maiestati 
commissam,  ex  puro  corde  et  sin- 
cere, vna  cum  benedictione  remit- 
tere  et  conferre  dignetur  tua  celsi- 
tudo  benignissima,  quatenus  in  fu- 
turum  pro  salute  et  tui  regni  pros- 
peritate  sanctius  et  deuocius  con- 


ways  and  by  various  means  was 
endeavouring  to  regain  the  King's 
favour.  At  length,  being  inspired 
by  Divine  counsel,  in  a  change  of 
habit,  and  in  the  most  secret  man- 
ner, he  repaired  to  Alwyn,  Abbot 
of  the  Monastery  of  Holyrood,  the 
King's  Confessor  and  confidential 
Secretary,  for  advice  and  assistance. 
The  Abbot,  therefore,  compassiona- 
ting the  aforesaid  penitent,  Lord 
Fergus,  prayed  to  God  to  obtain  the 
Eoyal  favour  for  him ;  and  because 
he  well  knew  in  this  case  that  the 
King's  determination  for  the  execu- 
tion of  justice  was  inflexible,  he  was 
afraid  incautiously  to  intercede  in 
his  behalf.  At  last,  by  the  ingenui- 
ty of  both  Fergus  and  the  Abbot,  it 
was  contrived  that  the  said  Lord 
Fergus  should  assume  the  Cloister- 
Habit  of  a  Canon-Regular,  and  thus, 
God  directing,  should  obtain,  along 
with  his  Brethren,  the  King's  fa- 
vour, and,  at  the  same  time,  the 
pardon  of  this  offence,  through  sup- 
plication under  a  Religious  Habit. 
Leaving  to  God  their  purpose,  they 
wait  for  a  convenient  day  and 
hour,  with  the  intention  of  the 
Abbot  speaking  to  the  King  on  this 
matter.  One  day,  as  usual,  while 
the  King  was  visiting  the  builders 
of  his  famous  Monastery,  the  Ab- 
bot, at  a  seasonable  moment,  thus 
addresses  him — "  0  most  gracious 
Prince  and  Founder,  we,  though 
unworthy  petitioners  and  Conven- 
tual Chaplains,  by  reason  of  the 
wounds  of  our  transgressions,  to  be 
cured  only  by  a  spiritual  remedy, 
beg  to  have  often  the  presence  of 
your  Highness  in  Chapter."  At 
this,  the  merciful  Prince,  highly 
pleased,  enters  the  Chapter  House, 
when  the  Brethren  were  arranged 
in  order  at  the  hour  of  meeting,  sits 
down  in  the  middle,  the  Brethren 
prostrating  themselves  to  the  ground 
at  the  entrance.  The  Abbot  thus 
speaks — "  0  most  gracious  Prince, 


206 


MONASTICON. 


templari  et  orare  mereamur,  et  in 
signum  hums  graciose  remissionis 
nostrum  vnicuique  osculum  pacis 
impartiri  tua  dilectetur  celsifcudo 
clementissinia."  Kex  vultu  placen- 
tissimo  respondit,  "Fratres  predi- 
lecti,  omnia  uobis  crimina  remitto, 
et  me  vestris  oracionibus  commen- 
do ;"  et  statim  se  erigens  de  sua 
sede,  apprehensa  manu  abbatis,  eum 
osculatus  est  dicendo,  "  Pax  tibi, 
frater,  cum  benedictione  diuina." 
—  [Bannatijne  Miscellany,  vol.  ii.,  pp. 
19-20.] 


we,  the  petitioners  of  your  High- 
ness, confessing  our  faults  that  we 
are  guilty  and  transgressors,  most 
humbly  beseech  thee,  in  the  bowels 
of  Jesus  Christ,  that  your  most  be- 
nignant Highness  would  condescend 
to  pardon  us,  and  every  one  of  us, 
every  fault  and  offence  committed 
against  your  Majesty,  with  a  single 
and  unfeigned  heart,  and  at  the 
same  time  bestow  upon  us  your 
blessing,  in  order  that,  for  the 
future,  we  may  be  deserving  to 
meditate  and  pray  for  the  safety  of 
your  Kingdom  more  holily  and  de- 
votedly ;  and  that  your  most  merci- 
ful Highness  would  be  pleased,  in 
token  of  this  gracious  pardon,  to 
bestow  upon  every  one  of  us  the 
kiss  of  peace."  The  King,  with  a 
most  placid  countenance,  replied — 
"  Dearly  beloved  Brethren,  I  for- 
give you  all  charges,  and  commend 
myself  to  your  prayers ;"  and  im- 
mediately rising  from  his  seat,  and 
taking  the  Abbot  by  the  hand, 
kissed  him,  saying,  "Peace  be  to 
thee,  Brother,  with  the  Divine  Bene- 
diction." 


VALUATION     OF     THE     PRIORY     OF     SAINT     MARY'S     ISLE. 

Money,  £235  4s  4d.    [£307  11s  4d.    Keith.] 


XII.  BLANTYRE,     A.D.  1295, 

In  Clydesdale,  was  Founded  by  Alexander  II.  before  1296 ; 
for,  at  this  time,  "Frere  William,  Prioyr  de  Blantyr,"  is  a  Sub- 
scriber to  Bagman's  Roll.  [Prynne,  p.  663.]  Walter  Stuart, 
Commendator  of  this  place,  was  Lord  Privy  Seal  in  1595,  and, 
shortly  after,  Treasurer,  upon  the  Master  of  Glammis'  demission. 
He  was  made  a  Peer,  by  the  Title  of  Lord  Blantyre,  the  10th 
July,  1606,  from  whom  is  descended  the  present  Lord  Blantyre. 
[Spottiswoodt.] 

"Dean  Eobert  Couts,  Prior  of  Blantyre,  gets  License  to  pass 
to  Eome,  or  to  any  other  place,  in  Pilgrimage,  for  three  years; 
and  liberty  to  purchase  in  the  Court  of  Eome,  any  Benefice, 


PKIOEY  OF  BLANTYRE.  207 

Kegular  or  Secular,  in  Scotland,  of  the  availl  of  <£500  Sterling: 
the  year  dated  Oct.  22nd,  1531."  [Riddles'  MS.  Notes  to  "Keith."} 

"  Though  this  Parish  be  but  little,  yett  there  was  anciently  a 
little  Priorie  situate  in  it,  upon  ane  precipice,  close  unto  Clyde, 
among  pleasant  woods,  just  opposite  to  the  Castle  of  Bothwell. 
It  was  ane  Cell  of  the  Abbacie  of  Jedburgh,  and  Founded  by 
King  Alexander  II.,  to  which  these  Munks  generally  retired  in 
the  tyme  of  war  with  the  English.  The  Benefice  is  but  small, 
and  was  given  by  King  James  VI.  to  Walter  Stuart,  sone  to  the 
Laird  of  Minto,  one  of  his  servants,  and  Thesaurer  of  Scotland. 
He  was  first  Commendator,  and,  in  anno  1606,  was  created 

Lord  Blantyre Upon  the  south  bank  of  the  Kiver 

stands  the  Craig  of  Blantyre,  anciently  the  residence  of  the 
Priours  of  Blantyre.  .  .  .  .  The  Lord  Blantyre  heth  ane 
fruitful  orchard  at  the  old  Priorie,  where  he  is  some  tymes  in  use 
to  dwell."  [Descriptions  of  the  Sheriff cloms  of  Lanark  and  Ren- 
frew, compiled  about  MDCCX.  by  William  Hamilton  of  Wishaw.] 

Only  a  tottering  fragment  of  the  Priory  now  remains,  perched 
on  a  wooded  Crag  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  Village  of 
Blantyre,  down  the  Clyde — one  of  Scotland's  most  picturesque 
and  lovely  scenes,  so  much  admired  by  Professor  Wilson  and  the 
Poet  Wordsworth.  The  latter  says,  in  the  Notes  to  his  Poems, 
vol.  v.,  p.  379,  Edition  1839 — "Rock  and  ruin  are  so  blended 
that  it  is  impossible  to  separate  the  one  from  the  other.  Nothing 
can  be  more  beautiful  than  the  little  remnant  of  this  holy  place. 
Elm  trees  grow  out  of  the  walls,  and  overshadow  a  small  but 
very  elegant  window.  It  can  scarcely  be  conceived  what  a  grace 
the  Castle  of  Bothwell  and  Priory  of  Blantyre  impart  to  each 
other ;  and  the  Eiver  Clyde  flows  on,  smooth  and  unruffled, 
below,  seeming  to  my  thoughts  more  in  harmony  with  the  sober 
and  stately  images  of  former  times,  than  if  it  had  roared  over  a 
rocky  channel,  forcing  its  sound  upon  the  ear.  It  blended 
gently  with  the  warbling  of  the  smaller  birds,  and  the  chattering 
of  the  larger  ones,  that  had  made  their  nests  in  the  Ruins." 

A  popular  Legend  says  that  Sir  William  Wallace  once  took 
shelter  in  this  Priory  from  a  body  of  his  English  enemies,  and 
astonished  them  by  a  dexterous  escape  from  one  of  its  windows 


208  MONASTICON. 

over  a  precipice.  Another  Legend  asserts  the  existence  of  a 
subterranean  Passage  from  the  Priory,  under  the  bed  of  the 
Clyde,  across  to  Bothwell  Castle ;  and  this  is  used  by  Miss  Jane 
Porter  to  complicate  her  Story  of  the  Scottish  Chiefs. 

VALUATION  OF  THE  PKIOEY  OF  BLANTYEE. 

Money,  £131  6s  l±d.     [Keith.] 
XIII.    BOWADIL,  BOWADILL,  KOWDIL,  Or  BODIL, 

In  the  Isle  of  Harris,  and  Shire  of  Boss,  Founded  by  Macleod 
of  Harris.  It  was  situated  on  the  South-East  point  of  that 
Island,  on  the  sea  coast,  under  Ben  Bowadill.  [Spottiswoode.] 
The  Date  of  its  Foundation  is  unknown,  and  the  earliest  notice 
of  it  seems  to  be  that  by  Archdeacon  Monro,  who  says,  "  Within 
the  south  pairt  of  this  He  lyes  ane  Monastere  with  a  Steipeill, 
quhilke  was  founded  and  biggit  be  M'Cloyd  of  Harrey,  callit 
Boodill."  Macfarlane  [Geographical  Collections]  says,  "  Ther  is 
a  Paroch  Church  in  Haray  cald  Bovidil,  and  a  small  Tour 
[probably  the  '  steipeill '  of  Monro]  in  that  Town,  named  after 
the  Saint  Cleamen;  in  English,  Clement."  The  Buins  of  the 
"  Priory"  (so  termed  by  the  Natives)  are  still  in  tolerable  repair, 
and  enclose  the  Monument  of  Alexander  M'Leod  of  Harris 
(named  Gr attach),  a  piece  of  fine  Sculpture,  in  good  preservation. 

The  Priory  Church  of  S.  Clement  at  Bowdil,  in  Harris,  is  a 
small  cross-building  consisting  of  Nave  and  undistinguished 
Chancel,  respectively  31  feet  8  inches,  and  20  feet  2  inches,  in 
length,  by  15  feet  2  inches  in  width ;  Transeptal  Chapels  with 
Pointed  Arches  of  two  moulded  Orders,  opening  North  and 
South  between  the  Chancel  and  Nave ;  and  a  square  Tower,  about 
60  feet  high,  of  four  stories,  at  the  West  end,  of  equal  breadth 
with  the  Church.  This  is  conspicuous  a  far  way  off.  The  East 
Window  is  of  three  round-headed  lights,  trefoiled,  set  under  a 
Pointed  Arch,  with  a  wheel  of  six  straight  spokes  in  the  apex. 
All  the  Side  Windows  are  small  Lancets,  some  of  them  foiled  in 
the  head,  and,  with  the  East  Window,  showing  the  Scoinson 
Arch  within.  So  far  as  can  be  gathered  from  the  ornamental 
features,  which  are  confined  to  the  East  Window,  the  Arches  and 


PEIOEY  OF  EOWADIL.  209 

Kesponds  of  the  Side  Chapels,  the  Tower,  and  the  mural  Tombs, 
the  work  evidently  belongs  to  the  Second-Pointed  Period,  and 
may  date  from  about  the  end  of  the  Fourteenth  Century; 
though,  as  in  the  Buildings  at  lona,  the  adoption  of  forms 
resembling  Norman  and  First-Pointed,  has  given  to  it  an  appear- 
ance of  greater  antiquity.  In  both  Churches  the  Mouldings  and 
Pictorial  Sculptures  of  grotesque  Figures,  are  almost  identical 
both  in  style  and  subject,  and  very  likely  were  the  work  of  the 
same  hands.  There  are  two  nude  Figures,  which,  from  their 
analogy  to  allusions  in  Oriental  Worship,  are  objects  of  much 
curiosity  to  Tourists.  One  of  the  Gravestones  commemorates  a 
Sir  Donald  Macleod  of  Berneray,  who  Married,  for  the  fourth 
time,  after  he  was  80  years  of  age,  and  had  a  numerous  family 
from  the  Marriage. 

Buchanan  says  the  Monastery  of  Eowdil  was  built  by  Alex- 
ander Macleod  of  Harris;  but  this  is  an  egregious  mistake. 
The  Church  of  the  Monastery  was  only  repaired  by  this  Alexander 
Macleod,  who  Died,  as  the  Inscription  on  his  Tomb  bears, 
A.D.  1527.  There  is  not  a  stone  left  in  the  Foundation  of  the 
Priory.  The  place  of  it  cannot  now  be  traced,  and  all  we  surely 
know  of  it  is  that  it  once  has  been.  The  Chartulary  seems  to 
have  been  lost  amidst  the  devastations  which  every  where  marked 
the  progress  of  our  "  first  Reformers,"  and  the  Church  was  set 
on  fire.  The  Walls,  however,  of  this  venerable  Pile  remained 
almost  entire,  and  were  repaired  in  1784  by  the  late  patriotic 
Alexander  Macleod,  Esq.  of  Harris.  Down  to  this  period,  it 
was  customary  with  the  Natives  of  Harris  to  swear  by  Glaiman- 
morr-a-Boivadill — the  great  Saint  Clement  of  Eodil.  After  the 
Church  was  roofed  and  slated,  and  the  materials  for  furnishing 
it  within  laid  up  in  it  to  a  considerable  value,  it  unfortunately 
took  fire  at  night,  through  the  carelessness  of  the  carpenters,  who 
had  left  a  live  coal  in  it  among  the  timbers.  So  zealous,  how- 
ever, was  this  friend  of  Eeligion  and  mankind  in  his  design  of 
repairing  it,  that  by  his  orders,  and  at  his  expense,  it  was  soon 
after  this  accident  roofed;  and  it  is  now,  though  left  unfinished 
since  the  time  of  his  Death,  used  as  one  of  the  principal 
places  in  the  Parish  for  celebrating  Divine  Service.  [Parish  of 

VOL.  I.  2  D 


210  MONASTICON. 

Harris,  by  Eev.  John  Macleod,  in  Statistical  Account  of  Scotland, 
1794.] 

In  the  South  Chapel  of  the  Priory  Church,  there  is  a  long 
narrow  Chest,  made  of  separate  Slabs,  which  is  at  once  the  Tomb 
and  Coffin  of  what  appears  to  be  a  military  Ecclesiastic,  perhaps 
a  Prior  of  the  place.  {Characteristics  of  Old  Church  Architec- 
ture, &c.,  in  the  Mainland  and  Western  Islands  of  Scotland,  1861.] 

VALUATION    OF   THE    PEIOKY    OF   EOWADIL. 

No  information. 

XIV.  CKUSAY, 

In  the  Western  Isles,  Founded  by  S.  Columba.  [Spottis- 
woode.]  S.  Columba  Founded  a  Monastery  in  this  Island,  but 
nothing  remains.  I  have  found  this  Monastery  designated  in  all 
ancient  Catalogues.  From  the  three  Monasteries  of  Crusay, 
Oronsay,  and  Colonsay,  the  Family  of  Argyle  receive  the  Title 
of  Lord.  [Brockie's  MS.,  pp.  3639,  5037.] 

It  would  require  some  Professor  of  Geography  to  find  out  in 
any  Map  the  whereabouts  of  this  Island.  It  must  be  very  insig- 
nificant at  best.  I  have  searched  and  inquired  for  it  in  vain. 

XV.  ORONSAY, 

One  of  the  Western  Isles  in  the  Shire  of  Argyle,  Founded  by 
S.  Columba.  It  gives  the  Title  of  Lord  to  Archibald,  Earl  of 
Isla.  [Spottisivoode.]  Oronsay  and  Colonsay  lie  14  miles  N.N.W. 
of  Port  Askaig,  in  Islay,  and  are  reached  from  Glasgow  by  the 
Steamer  to  Oban.  The  population  of  both  Islands  is  nearly  600. 
Lord  Colonsay  takes  his  Title  herefrom,  and  has  his  Mansion  in 
the  Northern  part  of  the  Island.  His  Lordship  most  courteously 
gave  for  MONASTICON  a  Pencil  Sketch  of  his  Seat,  in  order  to 
show  the  present  nature  of  the  Country,  of  which  an  Engraving 
is  presented. 

The  KUINS  of  the  Priory  of  Oronsay  are  next  to  those  of 
lona  in  interest — the  finest  Ecclesiastical  Antiquities  in  the 
Hebrides.  The  Church  and  a  portion  of  the  Cloisters  still 
remain.  The  Church,  Dedicated  to  S.  Oran,  and  built  in  the 
Early  English  Style,  is  about  60  feet  long  by  18  wide,  and  has  a 


PKIOKY  OF  OKONSAY. 


211 


Side  Chapel,  containing  the  Tomb  of  Murchard  Makduffie  of 
Colonsay,  who  Died  in  1539  [see  Cut  top  of  next  page] ;  and  also 


INTERIOR  OF  OROJTSAY  PRIORY  CHAPEL. 


EXTERIOR  OF  ORONSAY  PRIORY  CHAPEL. 

what  is  generally  styled  the  Tomb  of  the  Abbot  Makduffie,  pro- 
bably the  Prior  of  that  name  above-mentioned. 

From  "  Martin's  Account  of  the  Western  Islands,"  it  appears 


212 


MONASTICON. 


that  the  Side  now  ruined  had  been  of  a  construction  similar  to 
the  latter  two.     The  rest  of  the  Buildings  are  ruinous. 


Near  the  Church  is  a  Cross,  12  feet  high,  1  foot  7  inches 
broad,  5  inches  thick,  with  an  Inscription  recording  the  Death 
of  Colin,  Prior  of  Orisoi,  noticed  above. 
The  nearly  effaced  Inscription  is  at  the 
bottom;  but  these  words  are  traceable— 
"Hoc.  est.  Crux.  Colini."  Prior.  Orisoi." 
This  beautiful  Cross,  bordered  with  the 
Nail-head  Moulding,  stands  on  a  Pedestal 
of  four  high  steps,  South- West  of  the 
Priory  Church.  On  the  East  face,  the 
Disk  has  a  radiated  circle  with  a  central 
boss;  and  the  Shaft  exhibits  a  profusion 
of  twining  foliage,  enclosed  in  girdles 
linked  to  each  other,  and  two  animals  near 
the  bottom.  Occupying  the  Disk  and  upper 
part  of  the  Shaft,  on  the  West  face,  is  a 
fine  Sculpture  of  the  Crucifixion ;  follow- 
ing is  a  deal  of  elaborated  foliage  in 
circles. 

The  fragment  of  another  Cross,  con- 
sisting of  about  3  feet  of  the  Stem,  is 
standing  on  a  graduated  Plinth  at  the 
East  end  of  the  Priory.  One  of  the  faces 
is  covered  with  foliage  of  an  elegant  pattern ;  the  other  face  is 
blank.  On  the  Disk,  which  is  lying  loose,  there  is  the  Figure 
of  an  Ecclesiastic  within  a  Trefoil-headed  Niche.  The  parts 
could  be  united  easily ;  and  a  little  labour,  laid  out  in  giving 


PKIOKY  OF  OKONSAY. 


213 


a  firmer  and  more  dignified  basis  to  the  larger  Pillar,  would 
certainly  be  no  more  than  it  stands  in  want  of  and  deserves. 

Thomas  Pennant,  in  his  "  Tour  in  Scotland,  and  Voyage 
to  the  Hebrides,  1772,"  page  235,  has  the  following  remarks : 
— "  The  Church  is  59  feet  by  18,  and  contains  the  Tombs 
of  numbers  of  the  ancient  Islanders — two  of  Warriors,  recum- 
bent, 7  feet  long ;  a  flattery,  perhaps,  of  the  Sculptor,  to  give  to 
future  Ages  exalted  notions  of  their  prowess.  Besides  these, 
are  scattered  over  the  Floor  lesser  Figures  of  Heroes,  Priests,  and 
Females — the  last  seemingly  of  some  Order;  and  near  them  is 
a  Figure  cut  in  stone,  of  full  size,  apparently  an 
Abbess.  In  a  Side  Chapel,  beneath  an  Arch,  lies 
an  Abbot,  of  the  name  of  Mac-dufie,  with 
two  of  his  fingers  elated  in  the  attitude 
of  Benediction.  In  the  same  place  is 
a  Stone  [see  Cut  on  the  left,  next  page] 
enriched  with  Foliage,  a  Stag  sur- 
rounded with  Dogs,  and  a  Ship  with 
full  Sail:  round  is  Inscribed,  'Hie  jacet 
Murchardus  Mac-dufie  de  Collonsa,  An. 
Do.  1539,  mense  mart.  Ora  me  ille. 
ammen.'  This  Murchardus  is  said  to 
have  been  a  great  Oppressor,  and  that 
he  was  Executed,  by  Order  of  the  Lord 
of  the  Isles,  for  his  Tyranny.  Near  his 
Tomb  is  a  long  Pole,  placed  there  in 
memory  of  the  Ensign  Staff  of  the 
Family,  which  had  been  preserved  mi- 
raculously for  200  years.  On  it  (report 
says)  depended  the  fate  of  the  Macdufien  Kace,  and 
probably  the  Original  perished  with  this  Murchardus. 
Adjoining  to  the  Church  is  the  Cloister,  a  square  of  42  feet. 
One  of  the  Sides  of  the  inner  Wall  is  ruined ;  on  two  of  the 
others  are  seven  low  Arches,  one  7  feet  high,  including  the 
Columns,  which  are  nothing  more  than  two  thin  Stones — (on  one 
of  these  there  is  an  Inscription,  which  was  Copied,  but  by  some 
accident  lost) — three  feet  high,  with  a  flat  Stone  on  the  top  of 


214 


MONASTICON. 


each,  serving  as  a  plinth ;  and  on  them  two  other  thin  Stones, 
meeting  at  top,  and  forming  an  acute  angle,  by  way  of  Arch.  On 
the  Fore-side  are  five  small  round  Arches :  these  surround  a 
Court  of  28  feet  8  inches.  The  whole  of  the  Cloister  part  had 
been  once  covered.*  This  Form  is  peculiar  (in  our  part  of  Europe) 
to  this  place ;  but  I  am  told  that  the  same  Form  is  observed  in 
some  of  those  in  the  Islands  of  the  Archipelago.  S.  Columba, 
when  he  left  Ireland,  made  a  Vow  never  to  settle 
within  sight  of  his  native  Country.  Accordingly 
when  he  and  his  friend  Oran  landed  here,  they 
ascended  a  hill,  and  Ireland  appeared  full  in  view. 
This  induced  the  holy  men  to  make  a  sudden  re- 
treat ;  but  Oran  had  the  honour  of  giving  name  to 

the  Island Nearer  the  Shore,  in  the 

East  side  of  the  Island,  is  a  large  conic  Tumulus; 
and,  on  the  same  plain,  a  small  Cross, 
placed  where  a  Mac-dufie's  Corpse  is 

said  to  have  rested Oron- 

say  is  three  miles  long ;  the  south  part 
low  and  sandy,  the  rest  high  and  rocky ; 
is  divided  from  Colonsay  by  a  narrow 
Sound,  dry  at  low  water.  Oronsay  and 
Colonsay  might  be  supposed  to  be 
Isles  of  Sanctity ;  yet  from  the  '  Refor- 
mation' till  within  the  last  six  years, 
the  Sacrament  had  been  only  once  administered. 
....  Among  the  Domestic  Fowls,  I  observed 
Peacocks  to  thrive  well  in  the  Farm  at  Oronsay. 
So  far  North  has  this  Indian  Bird  been  naturalized." 
The  Cut  to  the  right  is  given,  along  with  the  others, 
by  Pennant,  as  "  Tombs  in  the  Monastery  of  Oran- 
say,"  but  without  description.  In  the  centre  seem 
two  female  Religious,  holding  up  their  kirtles.  Are 
the  animals  below  playful  or  pugilant  ?  Pray  what  is  the  genus 
of  the  one  on  the  right  ? 

The  Priory  Church  on  the  little  Island  of  Oronsay,  imme- 
diately  adjacent  to  Colonsay,   and  fordable  a-foot  from  it   at 


PRIORY  OF  ORONSAY.  215 

back-tide,  is  a  narrow  Parallelogram  without  Aisles,  internally 
about  78  feet  in  length.  It  seems  to  have  been  a  very  plain 
Building,  with  nothing  remarkable  in  any  of  its  features,  except- 
ing a  slight  similarity  here  and  there  to  First-Pointed  character. 
The  Domestic  Buildings  are  on  the  North  and  North-East. 
They  seem  to  have  been  capacious,  but  are  now  extensively 
dilapidated,  and  show  nothing  of  the  curious  Triangular  Arches 
that  existed  entire  in  Pennant's  time. 

S.  Columba  is  said  to  have  first  landed  in  this  Island,  and 
most  probably  may  have  first  Founded  the  Priory,  but  which 
may  have  been  afterwards  changed  by  the  Lord  of  the  Isles.  Its 
subsequent  History  to  the  Era  of  the  "  Reformation"  is  unknown. 
Colin,  Prior  of  Orisoi,  Died  in  1510.  There  is  a  Stone  Cross 
beside  the  Priory.  The  Priory  is  entered  in  the  Libellus 
Taxatiomim  (a  Kecord  about  the  Date  of  1535),  but  the  Valuation 
is  not  given.  In  1549,  Archdeacon  Monro  says  that  in  "  Orwan- 
say  there  is  ane  Monastery  of  Chanons."  In  1554,  Queen 
Mary  addressed  a  Letter  to  Pope  Julius  III.,  recommending  for 
presentation  to  the  Priorate  of  Orwansay,  Sir  John  Makmvrich, 
a  Canon  of  the  Monastery,  on  the  [Resignation  of  Donald  Mac- 
duffie  (Donaldus  Duphaci),  to  whom  was  reserved  the  Liferent  of 
the  fruits  of  the  Priory,  and  who,  on  the  demission  or  Death  of 
Sir  John,  or  the  occurrence  of  a  Vacancy  in  any  other  way,  was 
to  have  regress  to  the  Priorate.  On  the  19th  April  in  the  same 
year,  or  in  1555,  Queen  Mary  presented  Master  Robert  Lawmont, 
Chancellor  of  the  Chapel  Royal  at  Stirling,  to  the  Priorate  of 
Orosai,  then  vacant  by  the  Death  of  Donald  Makfee  (the  same  as 
Donaldus  Duphaci),  and  collation  to  which  belonged  to  Alex- 
ander, Archbishop  of  Athens,  and  Bishop  of  the  Isles.  In  1592, 
James  VI.  presented  Donaldus  Dufacius  to  the  Parsonage  and 
Vicarage  of  Orvinsay,  vacant  by  the  Decease  of  Malcome 
M'Duffie.  In  1616,  James  VI.  granted  to  Andrew,  Bishop  of 
the  Isles,  the  5  Marklands  of  the  Isle  of  Oronsay,  16  s.  of  Garvolt, 
in  Colonsay,  the  two  Corneiks,  the  East  end  of  Coll,  the  Lands 
of  Skenan,  in  Jura,  and  the  Lands  of  Brockaich,  Killinew, 
Altshenaig,  and  Sowie,  in  Mull,  all  formerly  belonging  to  the 
Priory  of  Oronsay,  as  part  of  its  Patrimony ;  and  the  Lands 


216  MONASTICON. 

called  the  West  end  of  Coll,  extending  to  7  "  quarters  land ;"  the 
Lands  called  Haltyren  of  Arneish,  and  others,  formerly  belonging 
to  the  Nunnery  of  Icolmkill, — all  united  into  the  Tenantry  of 
Oronsay.  In  1623,  William  Stirling  of  Achy  11  had  a  lease  of  the 
Teinds  of  Oronsay  from  Thomas,  Bishop  of  the  Isles.  In  1630, 
Andrew,  Bishop  of  Eapho,  and  Prior  of  Oronsay,  granted  to 
Colin  Campbell,  Eector  of  Craigness,  the  Isles  of  Ilachinive  and 
Kilbrandan,  with  the  Parsonage  and  Vicarage  Teinds  of  the 
same,  both  which  belonged  to  the  Priory.  In  1635,  Neill, 
Bishop  of  the  Isles,  to  which  Bishoprick  the  Priory  of  Oronsay 
was  annexed,  with  the  consent  of  his  Dean  and  Chapter,  con- 
firmed the  Grant  of  the  Bishop  of  Eapho.  In  1667,  the  Earldom 
of  Argyle,  as  granted  anew  to  Earl  Archibald  by  Charles  II., 
included  the  Barony  of  Balweill,  in  which  were  included  the  Isle 
of  Oronsay  and  other  Isles,  together  with  the  Parsonage  and 
Vicarage  of  that  Barony,  and  of  the  Isle  of  Oronsay. 

Father  Hay  says  that  he  had  seen  a  "Booke  of  Eites  of 
this  place  in  parchment." 

About  the  year  1700,  a  precious  Stone,  said  to  have  been 
taken  from  a  Cross  which  was  on  the  Altar  of  the  Church,  was 
in  the  possession  of  the  Family  of  Macduffie.  At  the  same 
period,  there  stood,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  Church,  a 
Cross  and  Cairn,  at  which  the  bodies  of  the  Chiefs  of  the  Clan  of 
Macduffie  were  halted  on  their  way  to  Burial.  [Orig.  Paroch.] 

"  At  this  day,  the  Altar  exists,  but  tumbled  together;  before 
which  the  Calvinistic  Heretic  Inhabitants  at  set  times  convene  to 
Pray.  Only  the  Cloisters  remain,  and  the  Euins  of  the 
Monastery,  which  occupy  an  ample  space  in  circumference." 
[Brockie's  MS.,  p.  3692.] 

VALUATION  OF  THE  PEIOBY  OF  OKONSAY. 

No  information. 
XVI.    COLONSAY, 

One  of  the  Western  Isles,  also  in  the  Shire  of  Argyle,  was  an 
Abbey  Founded  by  the  Lord  of  the  Isles,  the  Canons  whereof 
were  brought  from  Holyroodhouse.  We  have  little  knowledge  of 
what  passed  there,  or  in  the  other  Isles,  not  only  by  their 


ABBEY  OF  COLONSAY.  217 

distance  from  the  South,  but  more  especially  by  the  loss  of  their 
Kecords.  [Spottiswoode.] 

A  Culdee  Establishment  was  Founded  in  Colonsay,  called, 
after  S.  Oran,  Killouran — i.e.,  "  the  Cell  of  Oran." 

The  Abbey  was  at  Kilouran.  Father  Hay  informs  us  that 
the  name  of  the  Founder  had  been  lost  through  the  mistake  of 
Transcribers,  or  the  ignorance  or  negligence  of  Librarians ;  that 
the  Date  of  the  Foundation  was  illegible,  but  that  the  occasion 
of  it  was  a  Vow  made  by  the  Founder  when  in  imminent  danger ; 
that  there  existed  in  the  Vatican  a  Letter  addressed  to  the  Con- 
vent ;  that  the  first  Abbot  ruled  for  seven  years,  and  Died  an  old 
man,  in  the  odour  of  sanctity;  and  that  his  Successor,  after 
ruling  for  some  time,  resigned  his  Office,  to  the  great  regret  of 
those  under  his  charge,  and  returned  to  Holyrood.  It  is 
traditionally  believed  that  the  Abbey  of  Colonsay,  which,  in  all 
probability,  had  decayed  after  the  retirement  of  the  second  Abbot, 
recorded  by  Father  Hay,  was  that  of  which  Oronsay  was  the 
Priory.  Part  of  its  Cloisters  appear  to  have  remained  till  about 
the  middle  of  the  Eighteenth  Century,  and  the  Kuins  of  the 
Church  are  still  to  be  seen.  [Orig.  Paroch.] 

S.  Columba  Founded  a  Monastery  in  this  Island  in  honour  of 
S.  Oran — hence  the  name  among  the  Inhabitants  of  Kiloron. 
Even  yet,  Vestiges  of  this  Monastery  remain ;  for,  besides  the 
Euins  of  the  Cloister,  are  to  be  seen  some  of  the  Cells  of  the 
Monks ;  to  the  North  of  which  is  a  pretty  large  Garden  with 
surrounding  Walls.  But  the  Church  of  S.  Oran  is  partly 
destroyed:  however,  there  still  stand  the  Pillars,  remarkable 
for  their  Architecture,  as  they  are  after  the  Church  of  lona. 
There  are  also  several  ancient  Monuments,  but  the  Inscrip- 
tions are  obliterated  ;  although  I  understand  that  there  are 
Tombs  of  the  old  Abbots  and  other  great  ones  that  have  had  no 
Epitaphs.  Within  the  Walls  of  the  Church,  there  is  to  be  seen 
a  Tomb  with  a  Ship  in  full  Sail,  together  with  a  Sword  and 
Staff,  sculptured,  seemingly 'the  Arms  of  the  Clan  M'Duff.  To 
the  right  of  this  Tomb,  there  is  a  Marble  Pillar,  with  the  following 
Epitaph: — "Hie  jacet  Malcolumbus  Mac-Dume  de  Collonsay." 
This  Monastery  was  translated  from  Monks  to  Canons-Kegular, 

VOL.  I.  2  E 


218 


MONASTICON. 


Kegular,   in   connexion   with   those    at  Edinburgh.      [Brockie  s 
MS.,  pp.  3689,  5034.] 

VALUATION  OF  THE  ABBEY  OF  COLONSAY. 

No  information. 

XVII.  CAMBUSKENNETH,     A.D.  1147, 

In  the  Shire  of  Clackmannan,  was  Founded  by  King  David 
I.  at  this  Date.  Its  Canons  were  brought  from  Aroise,  near  to 
Arras,  in  the  Province  of  Artois.  The  Abbots  were  formerly 
designed,  in  the  Subscription  of  Charters,  "  Ablates  de  Striveling," 
the  Abbey  being  situated  about  half  a  mile  below  Stirling,  upon 
the  North  side  of  the  River  Forth.  Alexander  My  In,  Abbot  of 
this  place,  was  the  first  President  of  our  Session  at  the  institution 
of  the  College  of  Justice  by  King  James  V.,  A.D.  1532,  and  was 
employed  in  divers  Embassies  by  him.  This  Abbacy  belongs 
now  to  Cowan's  Hospital,  in  Stirling,  being  some  time  ago 
purchased  from  the  Erskines  of  Alva.  [Spottiswoode.] 

CHAKTER  OF  THE  FOUNDATION  OF  THE  ABBEY  OF  CAMBUSKENNETH. 


In  nomine  Patris,  et  Filii,  et 
Spiritus  Sancti,  amen.  Ego  David, 
Dei  gratia,  Eex  Scotorum,  assensu 
Henrici  filii  mei,  et  Episcoporum 
regni  mei,  Comitumque  et  Baromnn, 
confirmatione  et  testimonio,  concede 
ecclesie  Sancte  Marie  de  Striveling, 
et  canonicis  in  ea  regulariter  viven- 
tibus,  ea  que  subscripta  sunt,  et 
pace  perpetua  confirmo.  Hec  itaque 
sunt,  que  prefate  ecclesie  concede. 
Terram  de  Cambuskenneth,  et  pis- 
caturarn  inter  eandem  terram  et 
Pollernase,  et  unum  rete  in  aqua ; 
terram  quoque  de  Colling,  cum 
nemore  et  suis  rectis  divisis ;  terram 
etiam  de  Dunbodenum,  que  est  inter 
aquam  ejusdem  terre  et  terram  de 
Locliing ;  quadraginta  quoque  soli- 
dos  de  redditu  meo  de  Striveling,  et 
canum  unius  navis,  et  unam  sali- 
nam,  et  totideni  terre  quot  habet 
una  de  salinis  meis,  et  decimam 
firme  de  dominiis  meis  de  Striveling, 
et  oblationes  que  in  predicta  ecclesie 


In  tlie  name  of  the  Father,  and 
of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
Amen.  I,  David,  by  the  grace  of 
God,  King  of  Scots,  with  the  consent 
of  Henry,  my  son,  and  of  the  Bishops 
of  my  Eealm,  and  with  the  confir- 
mation and  attestation  of  the  Earls 
and  Barons,  do  grant,  and  confirm 
in  perpetual  peace,  to  the  Church  of 
S.  Mary  of  Striveling,  and  the 
Canons-Eegular  living  in  it,  the 
subjects  underwritten.  These  then 
are  the  subjects  which  I  grant  to  the 
said  Church  :  The  Land  of  Cambus- 
kenneth, and  the  Fishing  between 
the  same  Land  and  Polmaise,  and 
one  net  in  the  water ;  also  the  Land 
of  Colling,  with  the  wood,  and  its 
just  divisions ;  the  Land  also  of 
Tillibody,  which  is  between  the 
water  of  the  same  Land  and  the 
Land  of  Locliing;  Forty  Shillings 
likewise  of  my  Kevenues  of  Stirling ; 
and  the  cane  of  one  ship ;  and  one 
Salt-pan,  and  as  much  Land  as 


ABBEY  OF  CAMBUSKENNETH. 


219 


oblate  fuerint;  et  insulam  que  est 
inter  Pollemase  et  Dunbodenum, 
et  viginti  cudernos  de  caseis  redditus 
mei  de  Striveling ;  eandem  quoque 
libertatem  et  consuetudinem,  quam 
ceteris  ecclesiis  terre  rnee  concessi 
et  confirmavi,  eidem  ecclesie  con- 
cede et  confirnio.  Volo  itaque,  ut 
quecunque  predicta  ecclesia  in  pre- 
senti  possedit,  vel  in  future  posses- 
sura  est,  ita  quiete  et  libere,  sicut 
ego  prefatas  terras  possideo,  possi- 
deat.  Salva  defensione  regni  et 
justitia  regali,  si  Prelatus,  aliquo 
impulsu,  a  justitia  exorbitanaverit. 
Hujus  confirmationis  testes  sunt 
Henricus  filius  Eegis,  Kobertus 
Episcopus  SancteAndree,  Gregorius 
Episcopus  Dunkeleden,  Herbertus 
Electus  de  Glasgow,  G.  Abbas  Duin- 

ferraline, Abbas  SancteAndree, 

Robertas  Prior  Saucte  Andree,  Gil- 
bertus  Prior  Jeddewart,  Edwardus 
Cancellarius,  Comes  Duncanus, 
Leodolphus  de  Breckin,  Hugo  de 
Morville,  Herbertus  Camerarius, 
Will,  de  Summerville,  Alanas  de 
Foulis,  William  de  Lindeff,  Wal- 
terus  de  Kidale. 


belongs  to  one  of  my  Salt-pans ; 
and  the  tenth  of  the  Feu-Duty  of 
my  Lordship  of  Stirling;  and  the 
Oblations  which  shall  be  offered  in 
the  foresaid  Church  ;  and  the  Island 
which  is  between  Polmaise  and  Til- 
libody ;  and  twenty  cudcrni  of  cheeses 
of  my  Kevenues  of  Stirling — I  grant 
and  confirm;  as  I  also  do,  to  the 
same  Church,  the  liberty  and  con- 
suetude which  I  have  granted  and 
confirmed  to  the  other  Churches  of 
my  Land.  I  will,  therefore,  that 
whatever  things  the  foresaid  Church 
possesses  at  present,  or  may  possess 
in  future,  it  do  possess  as  quietly 
and  freely  as  I  possess  the  foresaid 
Lands :  saving  the  defence  of  my 
Kingdom,  and  the  administration  of 
Royal  justice,  should  the  Prelate, 
by  any  impulse,  swerve  therefrom. 
The  Witnesses  of  this  Confirmation 
are — Henry,  the  King's  son ;  Robert, 
Bishop  of  St.  Andrews ;  Gregory, 
Bishop  of  Dunkeld ;  Herbert,  Elect 
of  Glasgow ;  G.,  Abbot  of  Dunferni- 

line  ;  ,  Abbot  of  St.  Andrews  ; 

Robert,  Prior  of  St.  Andrews ;  Gil- 
bert, Prior  of  Jeddewart;  Edward, 
Chancellor;  Earl  Duncan;  Leo- 
dulph  de  Brechin;  Hugh  de  Mor- 
ville; Herbert,  Chamberlain;  Will, 
de  Sommerville ;  Alan  de  Foulis ; 
Will,  de  Lindeff;  Walter  de  Riddel. 


CHARTER  FROM  POPE  URBAN  V.,  IGlH  JUNE,  1869. 


Convcntui  de  Cambuskyneth  ord.  s. 
Augustini  Sancti  Audreae  diocesis 
quaedam  donatio  ipsi  a  rege  Sco- 
tiae  facta,  inserto  regio  diplomate, 
confirmatur. 

Urbanus  Episcopus,  etc.  Ad 
perpetuam  rei  memoriam.  Hiis, 
que  pietatem  sapiunt,  ac  utilitateni 
ecclesiasticarum  personarum,  pre- 
sertim  religiosarum  vacantium  stu- 
dio pie  vite  conspiciunt,  ut  illibata 
permaneant,  libenter  adicimus  apo- 
stolici  muniminis  firrnitatem.  Sane 


A  certain  Gift,  Granted  by  the  King 
of  Scotland  to  the  Abbey  of  Cam- 
buskenneth,  of  the  Order  of  S. 
Augustine,  in  the  Diocese  of  St. 
Andrews,  is  secured  to  it  by  the 
King's  Letters  Patent. 

Urban,  Bishop,  etc.  For  the 
everlasting  remembrance  of  the 
transaction.  To  those  who  delight 
in  piety,  and  keep  in  view  the 
benefit "  of  Ecclesiastical  persons, 
more  especially  the  benefit  of  Reli- 
gious persons  devoted  to  the  study 
of  a  life  of  holiness,  that  these 


MONASTICON. 


petitio  pro  parte  dilectorum  filiorum 
.  .  .  Abbatis  et  Conventus  Monas- 
terii  Cambuskenet  ordinis  sancti 
Augustini  sancti  Andree  diocesis 
petitio  continebat,  quod  dudum 
Carissimus  in  Christo  filius  noster 
David  Rex  Scotie  Illustris  de  pro- 
pria  salute  cogitans,  ac  cupiens  illi 
aliquid  dare  de  suis,  qui  sibi  con- 
tulit  universa,  pro  sue  ac  Carissinie 
in  Christo  filie  nostre  Margarite 
Eegine  Scotie  Illustris  sue  uxoris, 
necnon  progenitorum,  heredum  et 
successorum  suorum  animarum 
salute  ipsis  Abbati  et  Conventui,  et 
ipsius  Monasterii  ecclesie,  que  sub 
vocabulo  beate  Marie  constructa  est, 
annuuni  redditum  decem  librarum 
argenti,  eidem  Regi  de  terris  De 
la  Plane  infra  Vicecomitatum  de 
Striveline  dicte  diocesis  debitum, 
dedit  et  etiam  concessit  prout,  in 
autenticis  litteris  inde  confectis, 
dicti  Eegis  sigillo  munitis,  quarum 
tenorem  de  verbo  ad  verbum  pre- 
sentibus  inseri  fecimus,  plenius  con- 
tinetur.  Quare  pro  parte  dictorum 
Abbatis  et  Conventus  fuit  nobis 
humiliter  supplicatum,  ut  premissis 
robur  confirmationis  adicere,  ac 
omnem  defectuni,  si  quis  forsan  in 
eis  intervenerit,  supplere  de  benig- 
nitate  apostolica  dignaremur.  Nos 
itaque  huiusmodi  supplicationibus 
inclinati,  donationem  et  concessio- 
nem  huiusmodi,  et  alia  inde  secuta, 
rata  et  grata  liabentes,  ilia  auctori- 
tate  apostolica  ex  certa  scientia  con- 
firinamus,  et  presentis  script!  patro- 
cinio  communimus,  supplentes  om- 
nem defectum,  si  quis  intervenerit 
in  eisdem.  Tenor  autem  dictarum 
litterarum  talis  est. 

David  dei  gratia  Eex  Scotorum, 
omnibus  probis  hominibus  totius 
terre  sue  clericis  et  laycis,  Salutem. 
Sciatis  nos  divine  pietatis  intuitu, 
ac  pro  salute  anime  nostre,  et  anime 
Margarete  Regine  Scotie  socie  nostre, 
et  animarum  progenitorum,  heredum 
et  successorum  nostrorum  dedisse, 


grants  may  remain  intact,  we  wil- 
lingly annex  the  stability  of  Apos- 
tolic ratification.     Whereas  a  Peti- 
tion on  the  part  of  our  beloved  sons 
.  .  .  the  Abbot  and  Convent  of  the 
Monastery   of    Cambuskenneth,   of 
the  Order  of  S.  Augustine,  in  the 
Diocese  of  St.  Andrews,  set  forth 
that,   some   time   ago,   our   dearly 
beloved  son  in   Christ,  David,  the 
illustrious  King  of  Scotland,  regard- 
ing his  own  salvation,  and  wishing 
to  render  a  portion  of  his  means  to 
Him  who  bestowed  the  whole,  for 
the  salvation  of  his  own  soul,  and 
that  of  his  Queen,  our  dearly  be- 
loved daughter  in  Christ,  and  also 
for  the  salvation  of  his  Predecessors, 
Heirs,    and   Successors,   gave    and 
granted  to  the  Abbot  and  Convent 
in    their    own  name,   and  to   the 
Church   of  that   Monastery   which 
was  built  in  honour  of  S.  Mary,  an 
annual  revenue   of  ten  pounds  of 
silver  due  to  the  same  King  from  the 
Lands  of  the  Meadow,  lying  down- 
wards from  the  County  of  Stirling, 
within  the  said  Diocese,  as  is  more 
fully   contained    in    the    authentic 
Documents   then   drawn    out,    and 
passed  under  the  said  King's  Seal, 
a  Copy  of  which  we  have  caused  to 
be  inserted,  word  for  word,  in  these 
presents.     Wherefore,  on  the  part 
of  the  said  Abbot  and  Convent,  we 
were   humbly  besought   to    conde- 
scend, in  our  Apostolic  benignity, 
to  annex  to  the  aforesaid  the  strength 
of  Confirmation,  and  to  supply  every 
deficiency,    should    any    be    found 
therein.     We,  therefore,  favourable 
to  Petitions  of  this  kind,  with  our 
well    known    Apostolic    authority, 
confirm  the  gift  and  grant  aforesaid, 
regarding  these  and  other  proceeds 
therefrom,  ratified  and  acceptable, 
and  we  fortify  them  by  the  present 
Rescript,  supplying  every  defect,  if 
any   such   be   found  in   the  same. 
Moreover,  the  tenor  of  these  Let- 
ters is  as  follows  : — 


ABBEY  OF  OAMBUSKENNETH. 


221 


concessisse,  et  hac  present!  carta 
nostra  confirmasse  deo  et  ecclesie 
sancte  Marie  de  Cambuskyneth,  et 
Canonicis  ibidem  deo  servientibus, 
et  in  perpetuum  servituris,  annuum 
redditum  nostrum  decem  librarum 
argenti,  nobis  de  terris  De  la  Plane 
infra  Vicecomitatum  de  Strevelyne 
annuatim  debitarum,  tenendum  et 
habenduni  dictis  religiosis  et  eorum 
successoribus  de  nobis,  heredibus  et 
successoribus  nostrisKegibns  Scotie, 
qui  pro  tempore  fuerint,  in  liberam, 
puram  et  perpetuani  elimosinam 
libere,  quiete,  plenarie,  integre  et 
lionorifice,  sine  contradictione  sen 
dimiuutione  quacurnque,  ex  qua- 
curnque  causa  vel  casu  proveniente, 
ad  cuiuscumque  vel  quorumcumque 
manus  dicte  terre  De  la  Plane  infra 
Vicecomitatum  de  Strevelyne,  ut 
premittitur ,  integre  vel  particulariter 
deveniant  imposterum.  Volumus 
itaque,  et  pro  nobis,  heredibus  et 
successoribus  nostris  perpetuo  con- 
cedimus,  quod  predict!  Conventus  et 
successores  supradictis  decem  libris 
argenti  pacifice  gaudeant,  annuatim 
liabeant,  et  integre  in  perpetuum 
possideant,  et  si  contingat,  quod 
absit,  quod  dni.  sen  tenentes  dic- 
tarum  terrarum  De  la  Plane  dictas 
decem  libras  argenti  ultra  terrninos 
usuales  detinuerint,  dictis  religiosis 
tempore  debito  solvere  recusantes, 
mandamus  firmiter  et  precipimus 
Vicegerent!  nostro  et  Ballivis  suis 
de  Strevelyne,  qui  pro  tempore  fuer- 
int, quod  dictos  dominos  seu  tenen- 
tes earumdem  terrarum,  et  omnia 
bona  sua  mobilia  et  immobilia  ubi- 
curnque  inventa,  quanto  strictius 
poterunt,  compellant  et  distringant, 
quod  prefatis  Eeligiosis,  ut  premis- 
sum  est,  de  termino  in  terminum 
integre  persolvant,  et  plene  satisfaci- 
ant  super  nostrarn  plenam  forisfac- 
turarn  (sic).  In  cuius  rei  testimoni- 
um  present!  carte  nostre  sigillum 
nostrum  precipimus  apponi.  Testi- 
bus  Venerabilibus  in  Christo  patri- 


David,  by  the  grace  of  God,  King 
of  Scotland,  to  all  good  men  within 
his  Dominions,  Cleric  and  Lay, 
greeting.  Know  that,  in  considera- 
tion of  our  duty  to  God,  and  for  the 
salvation  of  our  own  soul,  and  the 
soul  of  Margaret,  Queen  of  Scot- 
land, our  spouse,  and  for  the  souls 
of  our  Ancestors,  Heirs,  and  Suc- 
cessors, we  have  given  and  granted, 
and  by  these  presents  confirmed,  to 
God,  and  to  the  Church  of  S.  Mary 
of  Cambuskenneth,  and  to  the 
Canons  there  serving  God,  and  to 
those  who  are  to  serve  Him  in  all 
time  coming,  the  yearly  rental  of 
ten  pounds  of  silver  annually  due  to 
us  from  the  Lands  of  the  Meadow, 
downwards  from  the  County  of  Stir- 
ling, to  be  taken  and  holden  by  the 
aforesaid  Keligious  and  their  Suc- 
cessors, of  us,  our  Heirs,  and  Suc- 
cessors, Kings  of  Scotland  for  the 
time  being,  that  for  free,  pure,  and 
perpetual  alms,  they  may  freely, 
peaceably,  fully,  entirely,  and  hon- 
ourably, without  any  opposition  or 
diminution,  arising  from  any  cause 
or  accident  whatever,  to  descend  in 
whole  and  in  part  to  the  hands  of 
any  person  or  persons  of  the  said 
Lands  of  the  Meadow,  downwards 
from  the  County  of  Stirling,  as 
aforesaid.  We  will  therefore,  and 
grant  both  for  ourselves,  for  our 
Heirs  and  Successors,  perpetually, 
that  the  aforesaid  Community  and 
their  Successors  peaceably  enjoy  the 
aforesaid  ten  pounds  of  silver,  and 
that  they  receive  such  annually,  and 
possess  them  entirely  for  ever ;  and 
should  it  happen,  which  God  forbid, 
that  the  Proprietors  or  Tenants  of 
said  Lands  of  the  Meadow,  should 
withhold  the  said  ten  pounds  of  silver 
beyond  the  ordinary  terms,  refusing 
to  pay  them  at  the  proper  time  to 
the  saidEeligious,we  unhesitatingly 
command  and  instruct  our  Man- 
datory and  his  Bailies  of  Stirling 
for  the  time  being,  to  compel  the 


222 


MONASTICON. 


bus  Willelmo  Episcopo  Sancti 
Andree,  et  Patricio  Episcopo  Bre- 
chinensi  Cancellario  nostro,  Roberto 
Senescallo  Scotie,  Comite  de  Stra- 
therne,  nepote  nostro,  Willelmo 
Comite  de  Douglas,  Roberto  de 
Erkyne,  David  de  Grahame,  et 
Waltero  de  Halyburton  militibus. 

Apud  Perth  vicesimo  quinto  die 
mensis  Augusti,  Anno  Eegni  nostri 
tricesinio  sexto. 

Nulli  ergo  etc.  nostre  confirrna- 
tionis  et  constitutionis  infringere 
etc.  Datum  apud  Montemfiasconem 
xvi.  Kalendas  lulii,  Pontificatus 
nostri  anno  septimo.  [Theiner's  Vet. 
Hon.  Hib.  et  Scot.,  p.  336.] 


said  Proprietors  or  Tenants  of  the 
said  Lands,  and  to  distrain  all  their 
goods,  moveable  and  heritable, 
wherever  found,  with  all  rigour,  that 
they  may  fully  pay  the  aforesaid 
Religious,  from  term  to  term  as 
aforesaid,  and  amply  satisfy  them 
upon  our  full  conveyance.  In  testi- 
mony whereof,  we  have  ordered  our 
Seal  to  be  attached  to  this  our 
present  Instrument,  in  presence  of 
the  Venerable  Father  in  Christ, 
William,  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews, 
&c.  .... 

At  Perth,  the  25th  August,  in  the 
36th  year  of  our  Reign. 

Let  none,  therefore,  presume  to 
contravene  our  Confirmation  and 
Deed,  &c.  Given  at  Montefiascone 
the  16th  of  June,  in  the  7th  year  of 
our  Pontificate. 


I  copied  the  following  in  the  Advocates'  Library,  Edinburgh, 
February  17th,  1868  :— 

1.  Registrum  Monasterii  de  Cambuskenneth.     A  formal  transumpt  of 
all  the  Charters  of  the  Abbey,  which  were  in  danger  of  destruction  from  its 
damp  situation,  obtained  by  Abbot  Alexander  Myln  (the  first  President  of 
the  Court  of  Session),  under  the  Confirmation  of  the  Great  Seal,  and  with 
the  Attestation   of   Sir  James  Foulis,   Clerk  of  Register,  affixed  to  each 
Charter,  24th  July,  1535.     It  extends  to  166  leaves  of  vellum,  in  folio.    The 
Charters  are  arranged  as  nearly  as  was  practicable  in  the  Alphabetical 
Order  of  their  subjects,  and  a  Table  of  the  Contents   is  prefixed.     The 
Foundation  Charter  by  David  I.  occurs  at  folio  6. 

The  Register  appears  to  have  been  the  property  of  the  Earl  of  Mar  in 
1693.  It  is  in  fine  preservation.  The  Seal  is  gone  ;  but  the  thick  cord  of 
purple  and  yellow  silk,  by  which  it  was  originally  bound  or  held  together, 
remains.  It  is  now  finely  and  strongly  bound  in  gilt  and  brown  morocco. 

2.  Registrum  Coenobii  de  Cambuskenneth,  impensis  Walteri  M'Farlan 
de  eodem  in  ipsius  usum  transcriptum  1738.     A  Transcript  of  the  preceding 
Register  by  Tait  M'Farlan's  Copyist.     The  Table  of  Contents  is  placed  at 
the  end  of  the  Transcript.     After  it  are  Notices  of  the  Monastery  from 
Richard  Hay's  "  Scotia  Sacra,"  and  Dalrymple's  "Historical  Collections;" 
and  two  Rentals  of  the  Abbey,  differing  exceedingly. 

3.  There  is  another  Copy  written  in  a  modern  hand. 


I  tried  to  secure  what  is  undernoted  for  the  Glasgow  Univer- 


ABBEY  OF  CAMBUSKENNETH.  223 


sity  Library  ;  but  the  modest  charge  of  £12  12s  left  the  bargain 
open  for  some  wealthy  Book-worm. 

From  Catalogue  of  Books  Published  by  Thomas  Kerslake,  Bristol,  1865.  Remains 
of  the  renowned  Library  collected  at  Hengwrt,  by  Robert  Yaucjhan,  Esq., 
Author  of  "  British  Antiquities  Revived." 

3863  Monastic  Rule  of  the  Abbey  of  CAMB  USKENNETH  .-—Exegesis 
in  Canonem  diui  Augustini  recens  aedita,  per  Fratrem  Eobertum  EICHAE- 
DINUM,  Celebris  Ecclesise  Cambus  Kenalis  Canonicum,  Lrtet.,  Chr.  Wechel, 
1530,  wood  cut,  12mo,  old  binding. 

Dedicated  to  Alexander  MYLNE  his  Abbot.  At  the  end  an  address 
'  Ivnioribvs  confratribus  celeberrinioriim  coenobiorum  CambusKenalis  Scou- 
ensis'.  '  Alphabeturn  Eeligiosoruni,  a  uenerabili  Thoma  CAUPIS  ordinis 
sancti  Augustini'.  '  Orationes  secundum  Ferias'. 

This  Author  seems  to  be  unknown  to  TANNER  and  other  British 
Bibliographers. 

From  Hengwrt,  and  perhaps  belonged  previously  to  the  adjacent 
Abbey  of  VANNEE  Merioneth. 

Besides  the  subjects  mentioned  in  the  Foundation  Charter, 
King  David  made  sundry  other  considerable  Donations  to  the 
Monastery.  He  conveyed  a  Grant  of  the  Church  of  Clack- 
mannan, with  40  Acres  of  Land,  and  Priest's  Croft  near  the 
Church  ;  as  also  of  a  Toft  at  Stirling,  and  another  at  Linlithgow, 
together  with  the  Tenth  of  all  the  Sums  duly  payable  for  obtain- 
ing Decreets  in  the  Courts  of  Stirlingshire  and  Callander.  At 
another  time,  he  bestowed  the  Farm  of  Kettleston,  near  Linlith- 
gow, together  with  the  Lands  of  Malar,  near  Touch,  and  certain 
Privileges  in  the  Wood  of  Keltor,  now  known  by  the  name  of 
the  Torwood. 

The  Original  Charter  was  Confirmed  by  sundry  succeeding 
Monarchs,  with  the  addition  of  other  Lands  and  Privileges. 
Large  Donations  were  also  made  by  private  persons,  in  so  much 
that,  in  a  short  time,  the  Endowments  of  this  Erection  became 
very  great.  Some  of  those  Donations  bear  that  they  were 
Granted  in  puram  decmosynam  ;  others  that  they  were  made  pro 
salute  animce  of  the  Donors.  Of  the  latter  sort  is  a  Charter  by 
Robert  II.,  28th  February,  1388-9,  to  S.  Lawrence's  Altar  in 
the  Church  of  Stirling,  of  a  Passage  Boat  on  the  Forth,  with  a 
Croft  of  Land  annexed,  "for  our  salvation,  and  our  children's,  as 


224  MONASTICON. 

also  for  the  soul  of  our  late  dear  Consort,  Eupheme,  Queen  of 
Scotland."  [Robertson's  Index  of  Charters.} 

Bulls  also  were  obtained  from  sundry  Popes,  protecting  the 
Churches,  Lands,  and  other  Privileges  belonging  to  the  Monas- 
tery, and  prohibiting,  under  pain  of  Excommunication,  all 
persons  whatsoever  from  withholding  from  the  Canons  any  of 
their  just  rights,  or  disturbing  them  in  the  possession  of  them. 

The  most  curious  of  those  Bulls  is  that  of  Pope  Celestine 
III.,  Dated  May,  1195,  as  it  enumerates  the  Possessions  and 
Immunities  of  the  Monastery  at  that  time.  It  protects  the  Farm 
of  Cambuskenneth ;  the  Lands  of  Colling ;  the  Lands  of  Carsie 
and  Bandeath,  with  the  Wood  thereof;  Tillibotheny ;  the  Island 
called  Kedinche,  situated  between  Tillibotheny  and  Polmaise; 
the  Farm  of  Kettleston,  with  its  Mills ;  the  Lands  upon  the  bank 
of  the  Forth,  between  Pulmille  and  the  Koad  leading  down  to  the 
Ships ;  a  full  Toft  or  Feu  in  the  Burgh  of  Stirling,  and  another 
in  Linlithgow ;  one  Net  in  the  Water  of  Forth ;  twenty  Cuderni 
or  "Kebbocks"  of  Cheese  out  of  the  King's  Kevenues  at 
Stirling ;  40  Shillings  of  the  King's  Kevenues  of  the  same  place ; 
one  Salt-pan,  and  as  much  Land  as  belongs  to  one  of  the  King's 
Salt-pans ;  the  Church  of  Clackmannan,  with  40  Acres  of  Land, 
and  its  Chapels  and  Toft ;  the  Fishings  of  Carsie  and  Tilli- 
botheny ;  the  Fishing  between  Cambuskenneth  and  Polmaise ; 
the  half  of  the  Skins  and  Tallow  of  all  the  beasts  slain  for  the 
King's  use  at  Stirling. 

The  preceding  Possessions  and  Privileges  were  the  Donations 
of  King  David ;  those  that  follow  have  the  names  of  the  several 
Donors  prefixed  to  them. 

From  a  Grant  of  King  Malcolm  IV.,  grandson  and  Successor 
of  David  I.,  the  Mill  of  Clackmannan,  except  the  multure  of  the 
King's  table,  as  often  as  he  shall  come  to  that  Village ;  50 
Shillings  out  of  the  Customs  of  Perth. 

By  a  Grant  of  King  William,  a  full  Toft  in  the  Village  of 
Perth;  the  Church  of  Kinclething,  with  Lands  and  other 
Pertinents ;  the  Church  of  Tillicoultry,  with  all  its  Pertinents  ; 
the  Church  of  Kincardine,  with  the  Lands  assigned  to  it,  and  all 


ABBEY  OF  CAMBUSKENNETH.  225 

its  Pertinents;  the  Church  of  Gleninglefe,  or  Gleneagles — i.e., 
"  Glen  of  the  Church" — with  all  pertaining  to  it.  A  Confirma- 
tion of  Date  1218 — i.e.,  more  than  50  years  after — is  recorded, 
in  the  Chartulary  of  the  Abbey,  as  having  been  Granted  by 
William  (de  Bosco,  i.e.,  Wood),  Bishop  of  Dunblane,  and  Wit- 
nessed by  Cormac  Malpol,  Prior  of  Culdees,  with  Michael,  Parson 
of  Muthil,  and  Macbeath,  his  Chaplain.  This  Deed  was  executed 
under  Alexander  II.,  whose  Keign  commenced  in  1214. 

By  a  Grant  of  the  Countess  Ada,  one  full  Toft  in  the  Burgh 
of  Crail,  and  half  a  Carucate  of  Land  and  common  Pasturage  in 
Pethcorthing ;  one  Merk  of  Silver  out  of  her  Kevenues  of  Crail ; 
one  full  Toft  in  the  Burgh  of  Haddington.  This  Lady  was  the 
widow  of  Prince  Henry,  son  of  King  David,  who  Died  before  his 
father.  She  was  a  daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Warren,  in  England, 
and  mother  of 'two  Scottish  Monarchs,  viz.,  Malcolm  IV.  (sur- 
named  the  Maiden),  and  William  (surnamed  the  Lion).  This 
Lady's  Title  was  Countess  of  Northumberland.  She  Founded 
the  Nunnery  of  Haddington  for  White  Nuns,  in  1178.  The 
Countess  Ada  seems  to  have  had  the  Manor  of  Athelstaneford  as 
a  part  of  her  jointure.  She  Granted  its  Church,  with  the  Tithes 
and  other  Dues,  to  the  Cistertian  Ladies.  [Chalmers'  Caledonia, 
vol.  ii.,  p.  516.]  The  Church  of  Garvald,  with  its  Pertinents, 
and  a  Ploughgate  of  Land  adjacent,  were  Granted  to  the  Nuns, 
who  established  a  Grange  near  the  Church,  and  formed  a  Village, 
which  thus  obtained  the  name  of  Nunraiv,  where  they  had  a 
Fortalice.  [Ibid,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  536,  564.] 

By  a  Grant  of  Kobert,  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  the  Church  of 
Egglis — i.e.,  "  S.  Ninian's" — with  its  Chapels  of  Dunipace  and 
Lethbert,  and  all  its  other  Chapels  and  Oratories,  and  all  other 
Pertinents. 

By  a  Grant  of  Kichard,  Bishop  of  Dunkeld,  Confirmed  by  the 
King,  the  Church  of  Alveth,  with  its  Pertinents.  . 

By  a  Gift  of  Allan,  son  of  Walter,  a  full  Toft  in  the  Burgh  of 
Kenfrew,  and  one  Fishing  in  the  Water  of  the  same  Village.  He 
was  eldest  son  to  Walter,  Lord  High  Steward  of  Scotland. 
Before  his  father's  death,  he  is  usually  designed  Alanus  films 
Walteri  Dapiferi.  Upon  his  father's  decease,  he  succeeded  to 

VOL.  I.  2  F 


226  MONASTICON. 

the  Office  of  High  Steward,  and  from  that  time  hath  the  designa- 
tion of  Alanus  filius  Walteri  Dapifer. 

By  a  Grant  of  Philip  de  Lunding,  half  a  Carucate  of  Land, 
with  a  Meadow  pertaining  to  it  in  Balcormac ;  the  Pasturage  of 
500  Sheep  and  20  Cows,  and  a  Carucate  of  Land  in  the  Farm 
of  Binning. 

By  a  Grant  of  Goteline,  and  William,  the  son  of  Thorald, 
Confirmed  by  the  King,  the  Church  of  Kirkintilloch,  with  half  a 
Carucate  of  Land,  and  all  Pertinents. 

From  a  Grant  of  Gilbert  de  Umfraville,  two  Oxgangs  of  the 
Lands  of  Dunipace  Chapel. 

This  Bull  likewise  protects  to  the  Monastery  the'  Tithes  of 
all  the  Lands  which  the  Monks  should  cultivate  with  their  own 
hands,  or  which  should  be  cultivated  at  the  expense  of  the  Com- 
munity; as  also,  the  Tithes  of  all  the  Beasts  reared  upon  the 
Pastures  of  the  Community;  and  inhibits  all  persons  from 
exacting  these  Tithes.  It  likewise  empowers  the  Fraternity  to 
nominate  Priests  or  Vicars  to  the  several  Parish  Churches 
belonging  to  them,  whom  they  were  to  present  to  the  Bishop  of 
the  Diocese  within  whose  Jurisdiction  these  Churches  lay,  that, 
upon  finding  them  qualified,  he  might  Ordain  them  to  the  Charge 
of  the  souls.  These  Priests  were  to  be  answerable  to  the  Bishop 
for  the  discharge  of  their  Spiritual  Functions,  but  to  the  Abbot 
for  the  Temporalities  of  their  respective  Churches.  It  is  stated 
by  Forbes,  as  a  peculiarity  of  the  Monks  of  S.  Augustine,  or 
Canons-Regular,  that  "  they  took  the  charge  of  Parish  Churches, 
and  performed  Ecclesiastical  Functions  in  any  place;  whereas 
other  Monks  seldom  discharged  these  Duties  out  of  their 
Monasteries." 

This  Bull,  moreover,  grants  to  the  Community  the  privilege 
of  performing  Divine  Service  with  a  low  voice,  and  shut  doors, 
without  ringing  bells,  lest  they  incur  a  National  Interdict. 

Another  Bull  of  Protection  was  granted  by  Innocent  III.  in 
1201,  in  which  sundry  parcels  of  Lands  at  Innerkeithing,  Duneglin, 
and  Ayr,  are  mentioned,  which  had  been  Conferred  upon  the 
Monastery  since  the  Date  of  Pope  Celestine's  Bull. 

During  the  space  of  200  years  after  its  erection,  the  Monas- 


ABBEY  OF  CAMBUSKENNETH.  227 

tery  was  almost  every  year  acquiring  fresh  additions  of  wealth 
and  power,  by  Donations  of  Lands,  Tithes,  Patronage  of  Churches, 
and  Annuities,  proceeding  from  the  liberality  of  Kings,  Earls, 
Bishops,  and  Barons,  besides  many  rich  Oblations  which  were 
daily  made  by  persons  of  inferior 'rank. 

From  the  middle  of  the  Fifteenth  Century,  there  appears  a 
visible  decline  of  that  liberality  to  Religious  Establishments, 
which,  in  preceding  Ages,  had  been  so  vigorously  exerted  by  all 
ranks.  Donations  became  less  frequent,  and  the  immense  Pos- 
sessions acquired  by  Cathedrals  and  Monasteries  had  begun  to  be 
considered  as  public  burthens ;  for  nearly  one  half  of  Scotland 
was  in  the  possession  of  Ecclesiastics.  Several  Proprietors  of 
Land  withheld  payment  of  the  Tithes  due  from  their  Estates, 
until  they  had  been  prosecuted,  and  Decreets  obtained  against 
them  in  the  Civil  Courts.  John,  Lord  Fleming,  Chamberlain 
of  Scotland,  under  the  Duke  of  Albany's  Regency,  in  the  minority 
of  James  V.,  relying,  no  doubt,  upon  his  great  power  and 
influence,  kept  back  for  seven  years  payment  of  the  Tithes  of  his 
Lands  in  Kirkintilloch,  amounting  to  thirty-three  Bolls  of  Meal, 
and  three  Bolls  of  Barley  yearly.  He  was  prosecuted  at  the 
instance  of  the  Community  in  1523 ;  and  made  a  Composition 
for  arrears  at  the  rate  of  eight  shillings  four  pennies  Scots  per 
Boll.  Much  about  the  same  time,  the  Feuars  and  Tenants  of 
Kilmarnock  were  prosecuted  for  the  Tithes  of  their  Lands, 
amounting  to  a  large  quantity  of  victual  yearly.  [Chartulary.] 

Much  Civil  as  well  as  Sacred  business  was  transacted  in 
Religious  Houses.  In  1308,  Sir  Neil  Campbell, '  Sir  Gilbert 
Hay,  with  other  Barons,  having  met  at  Cambuskenneth,  entered 
into  an  Association  to  defend  the  liberty  of  their  Country,  and 
the  Title  of  Robert  Bruce  to  the  Scottish  Crown,  against  all 
enemies  of  whatever  Nation  ;  to  -which  they  not  only  affixed  their 
Subscriptions  and  Seals,  but  swore  upon  the  Great  Altar. 

The  Scottish  Kings  transacted  business  almost  as  often  in 
Monasteries  as  in  Palaces.  Many  Charters  are  still  extant,  which 
were  granted  by  different  Sovereigns  at  Cambuskenneth.  It  was 
also  the  place  of  Meeting  of  sundry  Conventions  of  Parliaments. 


228  MONASTICON. 

From  Writs  examined  by  Mr.  Chalmers  (the  Author  of 
"Caledonia"),  it  appears  that  Edward  I.  was  at  "  Cambusken- 
neth"  on  the  1st  of  November,  1303,  and  5th  of  March,  1304; 
at  "  Stryvelyn"  on  the  1st  of  May  and  29th  of  July ;  at  "  Bogh- 
kener"  (Bothkenner)  on  the  13th  of  August.  In  1301,  he  had 
been  at  "Mane well"  (Manuel)  on  the  24th  of  October,  having 
been  at  "Donypas"  on  the  14th,  and  returning  thither  on  the 
29th.  [Caledonia,  vol.  i.,  pp.  667,  670.] 

In  1326,  the  whole  Clergy,  Earls,  and  Barons,  with  a  great 
number  of  an  inferior  rank,  having  convened  in  the  Abbey,  swore 
fealty  to  David  Bruce,  as  Heir-apparent  to  the  Crown,  in 
presence  of  Kobert,  his  father ;  as  also  to  Eobert  Stewart,  grand- 
son of  the  King,  as  the  next  Heir,  in  the  event  of  David's  death 
without  issue. 

A  Marriage  was  at  the  same  time  solemnised  between  Andrew 
Murray,  of  Bothwell,  and  Christian  Bruce,  sister  of  King  Kobert. 
[For dun,  lib.  xiii.,  cap.  12.] 

At  that  Meeting,  too,  an  Agreement  was  entered  into  between 
the  King  on  the  one  part,  and  the  Earls,  Barons,  Freeholders, 
and  Communities  of  Burghs  on  the  other,  whereby  the  King 
obtained  a  Grant,  during  his  life,  of  the  Tenth  Penny  of  all 
the  Kevenues  belonging  to  Laymen  in  the  Kingdom,  both  within 
and  without  the  Burghs. 

It  has  been  observed  that  this  is  the  first  Parliament  in  which 
Burgesses  are  mentioned  as  having  a  Seat.  Under  the  Feudal 
Governments,  that  order  of  men  had  long  been  deemed  of  too 
mean  a  rank  to  be  allowed  a  place  in  the  National  Councils.  In 
England,  however,  they  had  formed  a  part  of  the  Legislative 
power  near  half  a  Century  before  the  Keign  of  Kobert  Bruce. 
[Hume's  History  of  England.]  The  House  of  Commons,  as 
constituting  a  separate  Branch  of  the  Great  National  Council 
of  the  English  Monarchs,  was  formed  in  1295.  There  never 
was  any  such  division  of  the  Scottish  Parliament.  It  is  not, 
indeed,  certain,  whether  as  yet  they  were  considered  as  a  con- 
stituent part  of  the  Legislature  in  Scotland,  or  only  permitted  to 
vote  in  what  immediately  concerned  themselves,  no  express 
mention  being  made  of  the  Three  Estates  till  the  next  Keign. 


ABBEY  OF  CAMBUSKENNETH.  229 

Although  they  were  not,  however,  in  the  Keign  of  Kobert,  allowed 
a  constant  Seat  in  the  National  Council,  yet  the  principles  of 
both  policy  and  equity  suggested  to  that  sage  Monarch  that, 
when  they  were  to  be  taxed  for  the  support  of  Government,  they 
should  be  called  to  give  their  consent,  by  being  represented  in 
that  Diet,  at  least,  of  Parliament  which  taxed  them. 


The  above  is  a  Fac- Simile  of  what  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  Key  Stone 
of  the  Entrance  Arch  to  the  Abbey.  It  was  found  near  Alloa  many  years  ago, 
and  is  now  preserved  by  Lord  Abercromby  in  the  Ruin  of  Menstry  House.  The 
Letters  entwined  form  CAMBUSKENNETH,  and  also  all  the  Letters  of  the  Alphabet. 

During  the  Wars  with  England  in  the  Reign  of  David  Bruce, 
the  Monastery  was  pillaged  of  all  its  most  valuable  Furniture. 
The  Books,  Vestments,  Cups,  and  Ornaments  of  the  Altar,  were 
carried  off.  In  order  to  the  reparation  of  that  loss,  William  de 
Landel,  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  made  a  Grant  to  the  Community 
of  the  Vicarage  of  Clackmannan. 

In  1559,  the  Monastery  was  spoiled,  and  a  great  part  of  the 
Fabric  cast  down  by  the  "  Reformers."  Several  of  the  Monks 
"  embraced  the  Reformation." 


230  MONASTICON. 

Monasteries  were  places  of  such  general  resort  that  they  were 
often  the  stage  of  Mercantile  as  well  as  Sacred  transactions. 
The  great  concourse  of  people  that  usually  assembled  around 
Religious  Houses  upon  Holy  Days  required  refreshment.  This 
suggested  the  idea  of  a  gainful  trade  to  Traffickers,  who  repaired 
thither,  not  only  with  Victuals  and  Drink,  but  different  other 
articles  of  Merchandise,  which  they  disposed  of  amongst  the 
crowd.  This  was  the  origin  of  Fairs.  Hence  Feria,  which 
originally  signified  "  Festival,"  came  also  to  signify  "Fair;" 
and  the  old  Fairs  have  generally  their  name  from  some  Saint, 
near  whose  Festival  they  were  held. 

In  1529,  a  Boat,  on  its  return  to  Stirling  from  one  of  those 
Solemnities  at  Cambuskenneth,  being  over-loaded,  sank  in  the 
River.  Fifty  persons  of  distinction,  besides  many  others,  were 
drowned.  [Mackenzie's  Lives,  vol.  ?Y.,  p.  578.] 

David  Panther  (as  is  mentioned  below  in  the  List  of  Abbots) 
was  the  last  Ecclesiastic  who  possessed  the  lucrative  Abbotship 
of  Cambuskenneth.  During  the  commotions  which  accompanied 
the  "  Reformation,"  Church  Benefices  were  seized  upon  by  those 
in  power,  without  any  lawful  authority.  John,  Earl  of  Mar, 
afterwards  Regent,  had  the  disposal  of  the  Revenues  of  Cambus- 
kenneth. He  had,  during  the  Reign  of  James  V.,  been  appointed 
Commendator  of  Inchmahome.  After  the  "  Reformation"  had 
taken  place,  one  of  his  nephews,  Adam  Erskine,  was  Commen- 
dator of  Cambuskenneth. 

After  the  establishment  of  the  "  Reformed  Religion,"  James 
VI.,  considering  himself  the  proprietor  of  the  Church  Lands, 
erected  several  Abbacies  and  Priories  into  Temporal  Lordships, 
in  behalf  of  men  of  interest,  or  in  high  favour,  who  thus  came 
to  have  the  same  title  to  those  Lands  as  the  Religious  Houses 
had  formerly.  As,  however,  the  Revenues  of  the  Crown  had 
suffered  greatly  from  those  erections,  the  Temporalities  of  all 
Church  Benefices  were,  by  Act  of  Parliament,  in  1587,  annexed 
to  it.  James  still  continued,  notwithstanding,  to  make  new 
erections ;  but  in  1592,  they  were,  by  Parliament,  declared  null, 
with  the  exception  of  such  as  had  been  made  in  favour  of  the 
ennobled  members  of  this  body.  After  the  Accession  of  that 


ABBEY  OF  CAMBUSKENNETH. 


281 


Monarch  to  the  Crown  of  England,  the  Temporality  of  Cambus- 
kenneth,  together  with  those  of  the  Ahhey  of  Dryburgh  and  the 
Priory  of  Inchmahome,  was  conferred  on  John,  Earl  of  Mar,  to 
the  end  that,  in  the  words  of  the  Grant,  "  he  might  be  in  a  better 
condition  to  provide  for  his  younger  sons  by  Lady  Mary  Stewart, 
daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Lennox,  and  a  relation  of  his  Majesty." 
The  Barony  of  Cambuskenneth,  in  which  the  Monastery  stood, 


TOWER   OF   CAMBUSKENNETH  ABBEY. 


was  settled  by  the  Earl  upon  Alexander  Erskine  of  Alva,  his 
brother,  whose  posterity  continued  in  possession  of  it  till  the 
year  1709,  when  it  was  purchased  by  the  Town  Council  of 
Stirling  for  the  benefit  of  Cowan's  Hospital,  to  which  it  still 
belongs. 

The  Fabric  of  the  Abbey  was  once  large  and  extensive ;  but 
nothing  of  it  now  exists  except  a  few  broken  Walls,  and  a  Tower, 


232  MONASTICON. 

which  was  the  Belfry.  Some  remains  of  the  Garden  are  to  be 
seen,  and  the  Burial  Place  where  James  III.  and  Queen  are 
interred.  There  is  no  vestige  of  the  Church.  Tradition  reports 
that  one  of  the  Bells  was  for  some  time  in  the  Town  of  Stirling, 
but  that  the  finest  was  lost  in  its  passage  across  the  Eiver  Forth. 

There  were  belonging  to  this  Abbey,  the  Lands  of  Cam- 
buskenneth  Colling,  Bandeath,  Carsie,  Tillibody,  Eendinch; 
the  Lands  of  Kettlestone,  with  Mills ;  Lands  upon  the  Forth 
between  Pullemiln  and  the  road  leading  down  to  the  Ships ; 
Tofts  at  Stirling,  Perth,  Linlithgow,  Haddington,  and  Kenfrew ; 
40  Acres,  with  a  Toft  and  Mill  in  Clackmannan ;  Lands  at  Kin- 
claven ;  Lands  at  Kincardine ;  half  a  Carucate,  with  a  Toft  at 
Crail ;  half  a  Carucate,  with  a  Meadow  at  Balcormac ;  a  Carucate 
at  Binning ;  a  Carucate  in  Kirkintilloch ;  two  Oxgangs  in  Duni- 
pace ;  part  of  the  Lands  of  Menstrie ;  Lands  at  Innerkeithing, 
Duneglin,  and  Ayr ;  Fintilloch  in  Strathern ;  of  Cambusbarron ; 
Maldar,  near  Touch  ;  Lands,  with  Mills,  at  Arngask ;  the  Lands 
of  Loching. 

The  Churches,  with  their  Tithes  and  Pertinents,  belonging  to 
Cambuskenneth,  were  Clackmannan,  with  its  Chapels ;  Kink- 
leven,  with  all  its  Pertinents ;  Tullicultrie ;  Kincardine  ;  Glen- 
leafe ;  Egglis,  afterwards  called  Kirktown,  and  now  known  by 
.the  name  of  St.  Ninian's,  with  its  Chapels  of  Larbert  and  Duni- 
pace,  and  all  its  other  Chapels  and  Oratories ;  Alveth  (Alva)  ; 
Kirkintilloch  ;  Tillibody,  with  its  Chapels  at  Alloa  ;  Fortiviote  ; 
Kilmaronoch ;  Kinnoul ;  Lecroch  (probably  Lecropt) ;  Arngask. 

The  Patronage,  likewise,  of  many  of  these  Churches  belonged 
to  the  Abbey.  When  a  Church  was  granted  to  the  Monastery, 
the  Community  drew  all  the  Tithes  and  other  Emoluments,  and 
appointed  a  Vicar  to  serve  the  Cure,  who  had  an  allowance  out 
of  the  small  Tithes. 

Certain  Privileges  and  Casualties  belonged  to  Cambusken- 
neth, viz.,  Fishing  with  one  Net  in  the  Kiver  Forth  between 
Cambuskenneth  and  Polmaise ;  the  fishings  of  Carsie  and  Tilli- 
body ;  Fishing  with  one  Net  in  the  Kiver  Clyde  near  Renfrew ; 
one  Salt-Pan,  with  the  necessary  quantity  of  Land  about  it ;  the 
half  of  the  Skins  and  Tallow  of  the  Beasts  slain  for  the  King's 


ABBEY  OF  CAMBUSKENNETH.  233 

use  at  Stirling;  the  Tenth  of  all  Sums  paid  for  obtaining 
Decreets  in  the  Courts  of  Stirling  and  Callander ;  the  Kane  or 
Custom  of  one  Ship ;  the  Tenth  of  the  King's  Feu-Duties  of  the 
Lordship  of  Stirling ;  40  Shillings  yearly  out  of  the  Customs  of 
Perth ;  a  common  Pasturage  in*  Pethcorthing ;  a  Merk  of  Silver 
out  of  the  Kevenues  of  Crail ;  Pasturage  of  500  Sheep  and  20 
Cows  at  Binning ;  the  Privilege  of  grazing  a  certain  number  of 
Cows  at  Borland,  near  Kincardine ;  the  Tenth  of  the  Feu-Duties 
of  Bothkennar,  amounting  to  Six  Chalders  of  Grain,  and  Eight 
Pounds  Five  Pence  Scots  yearly;  an  additional  Chalder  of 

Victual-  out  of  Bothkennar,  by  a  Grant 
of  Sir  William  More ;  a  Pension  of  100 
Shillings  out  of  the  Church  of  Blair ;  40 
Shillings  out  of  the  King's  Kevenues  of 
Airth,  besides  the  Tenth  of  the  Feus ; 
10  Pounds  out  of  the  Eevenues  of  Plean  ; 
40  Shillings  out  of  the  Kevenues  of 
Stirling ;  20  Kebbocks  of  Cheese  of  the 
Kevenue  of  Stirling;  certain  Privileges 
in  Torwood ;  the  Oblations  presented  to 
the  Church  of  the  Monastery,  without 
any  deduction  whatever. 

It  is  not  a  new  observation  that  the 
On  the  lower  part  of  this  Lands  formerly  belonging  to  Keligious 
Seal  is  a  Shield,  bearing  on  a  Houses  are   generally  fertile.     It   is  a 

Fess,  between  three  Mullets,        •  x   i        i  -i.     *i.«~.    i-  At. 

as  many  Roundies.  dr.  A.D.  mistake,  however,  to  ascribe  this  to  the 
1500.  {Chapter  Home,  West-  designing  sagacity  of  the  Clergy,  as 

leading  them  to  fix  on  the  best  spots ; 

for  they  seldom  had  the  choosing  of  the  Lands  conferred  upon 
them.  The  Donors  gave  such  parts  of  their  Estates  as  they 
judged  proper ;  and  many  of  those  Lands  were  situated  in  soils 
far  from  being  naturally  fertile.  It  hence  appears  that  their 
fertility  arose,  not  from  any  superior  quality  of  soil,  but  from 
industry  and  cultivation.  -  The  Monks  were  skilled  in  Agricul- 
ture, and  well  knew  how  to  turn  the  Donations  made  to  the  best 
advantage.  Meliorations  were  carried  on  at  the  expense  of  the 
Community;  and,  at  times,  the  more  robust  Members  shared 

VOL.  I.  2  G 


234 


MONASTICON. 


the  toils  of  Agriculture  with  their  servants.  Useful  manual 
labour  commonly  filled  up  the  intervals  of  Contemplation  and 
Devotion.  Many  Lands  of  the  Kegular  Clergy  wear  the  marks 
of  industry  to  this  day,  being  generally  well  laid  down,  and  free 
of  stones.  These  had  been  carefully  gathered,  and  are  often 
to  be  seen  in  heaps  around  them.  The  Monastery  of  Cambus- 

kenneth  had  a  strong  Agricultural 
incitement,  which,  in  all  probability, 
extended  to  the  other  Keligious  Com- 
munities. Such  Lands  as  they  ren- 
dered arable  at  their  own  expense, 
were  exempted  from  paying  Tithes 
to  any  Cathedral,  or  to  any  Parochial 
Church. 

Add  to  this,  that  Church  Lands 
were  generally  let  at  moderate  Kents, 
to  Tenants  who  were  seldom  ejected 
when  their  Leases  had  expired.  Meet- 
ing with  so  great  encouragement,  and, 
moreover,  being  exempted  from  Mili- 
tary services  and  other  burdens,  to 
m,  -TT  which  the  Tenants  of  Laymen  were 

The^Upper  Compartment  con-  J 

tains  a  half-length  Figure  of  the  subjected,  they  applied  themselves  to 
B.  Virgin  and  infant  Jesus,  and  the  cultivation   of  Farms,   of  which 

the  Lower,  an  Assemblage  of  six    ,  -,  •  i         i     j.i  i 

Monks  kneeling.  [Society  of  An-  theJ    considered    themselves   as,    in 
tiquaries  of  Scotland.]  some  degree,  the  Proprietors. 

Several  Abbots  over  Scotland  complied  with  the  "  Reformed 
Religion,"  and  kept  possession  of  their  Revenues.  At  the  Death, 
or  the  Forfeiture  of  an  Abbot,  his  Possessions  were,  generally, 
either  bestowed  in  Pensions  upon  Court  Favourites,  or  erected 
into  Temporal  Lordships.  The  private  Monks,  also,  had  an 
allotment  during  life;  but  it  was  often  so  ill  paid  that  many  of 
them  were  reduced  to  extreme  want. 

Duncan  Forrester,  of  Queenshaugh,  got  the  Farm  and  Lands 
of  Cambuskenneth  from  James  VI.  Alexander  Erskine,  son  of 
the  Earl  of  Mar,  was  provided  to  this  Abbey  last  May,  1608. 
[Riddles'  MS.  Notes  on  Keith's  Catalogue.] 


ABBEY  OF  CAMBUSKENNETH. 


235 


ABBOTS    OF    CAMBUSKENNETH. 

1.  ALFRIDUS  or  ALFRED  was  the  first  Abbot;  but  of  him  and  his  Suc- 
cessors for  three  Centuries,  we  have  found  nothing  memorable. 

2.  OSBERT,  Abbot  of  Cambuskenneth,  succeeded  Chancellor  Wood,  com- 
monly called  De  Bosco,  as  Bishop  of  Dunblane.     He  probably  Died  before 
1228.     Fordun,  Spottiswoode,  and  Keith,  set  down  his  Death  in  1231. 

3.  Prior  RICHARD  Witnesses  a  Deed  of  the  gift  of  the  Land  of  Drumcrok 
to  Inchaffray  in  1237.     [Brockie's  MS.,  p.  8233.] 

4.  JOHN,  A.D.  1292. 

[Of  the  lapse  between  John  and  Patrick  in  the 
Succession  of  the  Abbots,  there 
is  no  account  given.] 

5.  PATRICK,  A.D.  1400.    From 
the   beginning   of  the    Fifteenth 
Century,  we   find  the  Abbots  of 
this  Place  frequently  employed  in 
important  National  transactions, 
or  advanced  to  the  highest  Civil 
offices.     The  Abbot  of  Cambus- 
kenneth is   named  among  those 

who,  in  1423,  were  sent  into 
[Chapter  E  land  b  Murd  Duke  of  M_ 
House,  Westminster.}  ,  ,•  ,  m 

bany,  to  negotiate  a  Treaty  con- 
cerning the  ransom  of  James  I.,  who  had  long  been 
detained  a  captive  in  that  Kingdom,  and  in  whose 
liberty  the  Negotiation  terminated. 

6.  HENRY,  Abbot  of  Cambuskenneth,  after  having  given  proofs  of  his 
Political  abilities  in  an  Embassy  to  England,  was,  in  1493,  raised  to  the 
Office  of  High  Treasurer  of  Scotland,  which  he  held  only  a  short  time.     The 
cause  of  his  removal  from  it  is  not  known ;   but  a  Discharge,  under  the 
Great   Seal,  of  his  Intromissions  while  in  that  Office,  is  inserted  in  the 
Chartulary  of  the  Abbey,  under  the  title  of  "  Acquietancia  Henrici  abbatis  de 
Cambuskenneth,  de  officio  thesaurarii,  decimo  sexto  die  mensis  Augusti, 
1495."     After  this  he  began  to  restore  the  Buildings  of  the  Monastery,  and 
to  adorn  the  High  Altar,  made  of  polished  marble,  with  various  sculptured 
Images  of  the  Saints.     He  rebuilt  the  Cloister  of  the  Abbey,  which  had  been 
decayed  by  time  ;  and  also  built  a  large  Wing  to  the  Abbey,  with  fine  Cells 
adjoining,  for  the  sick  and  infirm.     He  Died  in  1502,  having  held  the  Office 
above  30  years.     [Brockie's  MS.,  p.  8234.] 

7.  ANDREW  MACBREK,  about  1507,  received  this  Monastery  in  commendam. 

8.  DAVID  ARNOT,  formerly  Archdeacon  of  Lothian,  who,  after  having 
been  six  years  at  the  head  of  the  Abbey,  was,  in  1509,  preferred  to  the 
Bishopric  of  Galloway. 

9.  PATRICK  PANTHER,  or  PANTER,  was  Born  at  Montrose  about  1470, 


Circa  A.D.  1400. 
[Chap.  Home,  West- 
minster^ 


236  MONASTICON. 

and  was  reckoned  one  of  the  most  accomplished  Scholars  of  that  age,  as 
well  as  an  ahle  Statesman.  He  was  Secretary  to  James  IV.,  who  also 
raised  him  to  the  dignity  of  a  Privy  Councillor.  To  his  pen  the  Latin 
Epistles  of  that  Monarch  were  indebted  for  that  purity  and  elegance  of  style 
which  distinguished  them  from  the  barbarous  composition  of  the  Foreign 
Princes  with  whom  he  corresponded.  He  was  also  appointed  Preceptor  to 
the  King's  "natural  son,"  Alexander  Stewart,  afterwards  Archbishop  of  St. 
Andrews,  whose  uncommon  progress  in  Literature  is  so  much  celebrated  by 
Erasmus,  under  whose  tuition  he  sometime  was.  In  the  minority  of  James 
V.,  Panther  was  thrown  into  prison  upon  suspicion  of  having  been  concerned 
in  treasonable  designs  against  the  Duke  of  Albany  (son  of  the  attainted  Duke 
of  Albany,  younger  brother  of  James  III.),  then  Kegent ;  but  no  proof  of  his 
guilt  appearing,  he  was  in  a  short  time  released,  and  pitched  upon,  together 
with  the  famous  Gavin  Douglas,  Bishop  of  Dunkeld,  and  sundry  other 
persons  of  eminence,  to  accompany  the  Duke  into  France,  whither  he  went 
in  1516,  in  order  to  renew  the  ancient  League  betwixt  that  Kingdom  and 
Scotland.  He  was  now  left  Charge  des  Affaires  at  the  French  Court  in  Paris, 
where  he  Died  in  1519.  According  to  Dempster,  he  wrote  a  Book,  entitled 
"Politic®  Observations, "  Dedicated  to  James  IV.,  for  whose  use  it  was 
chiefly  designed.  It  is  now  lost.  [Mackenzie  on  Bishop  Leslie.  Crawford's 
State  Officers.] 

10.  ALEXANDER  MYLN,  who  had  formerly  been  a  Canon  of  Dunkeld.    He 
had  also  been  Prebend  of  Monifieth.     [Sir  James  Dalrymple 's  Collections,  p. 
244.]    He  was  employed  in  sundry  Negotiations  with  England  by  James  V.; 
.and,  when  that  Monarch'  erected  the  Court  of  Session  in  1532,  My  In,  on 
account  of  his  great  knowledge  of  the  Civil  and  Canon  Law,  was  selected  to 
be  the  first  President.     He  wrote  a  "  History  of  the  Bishops  of  Dunkeld." 
There  is  a  Copy  in  the  Advocates'  Library,  and  a  Transcript  in  the  Library 
of  Dunkeld,  with  an  English  Translation  by  the   late   Eev.   Dr.  Bisset, 
Minister   of  Logierait.     It  has  been  more  than   once   Eeprinted  for  the 
Bannatyne  Club.     He  Died  in  1542. 

11.  DAVID  PANTHER,  said  to  have  been  a  nephew,  or  some  other  near 
relation,  of  the  above  Patrick,  was  Commendator  of  this  Abbey  in  the  latter 
end  of  the  Eeign  of  James  V.,  and  the  minority  of  Queen  Mary.     His  first 
Office  in  the  Church  was  that  of  Vicar  of  Carstairs,  near  Lanark ;  he  was 
afterwards  Prior  of  St.  Mary's  Isle,  in  Galloway;  next,  Commendator  of 
Cambuskenneth ;    and,  last  of  all,  he  was  raised  to  the  See  of  Eoss   in 
1552.     He  was  an  accomplished  Scholar,  and  admirably  skilled  in  the  Latin 
language.     As  he  had  assisted  his  friend,  Patrick  Panther,  in  penning  the 
Letters  of  James  IV.,  so  it  is  probable  that  those  of  James  V.  were  indebted 
to  him  for  their  elegance  and  purity ;  for  he  was  principal   Secretary  of 
State,  and  a  Privy  Councillor,  in  the  latter  end  of  that  King's  Eeign,  and 
continued  to  hold  both  Offices  in  the  infancy  of  Queen  Mary.   He  was  much 
employed  in  Foreign  Negotiations  ;  and  the  ability  and  success  with  which 
he  managed  those  public  Transactions,  gained  him  a  great  esteem  at  Court. 


ABBEY  OF  CAMBUSKENNETH.  237 

He  Died  of  a  lingering  illness  at  Stirling  in  1558.   He  had  been  a  strenuous 
opposer  of  the  "  Reformation."     [Nimmo's  Stirlingshire,  1817.] 

The  following  Notice  appeared  in  a  Stirling  Newspaper  about 
three  years  ago  : — 

By  command  of  her  Majesty  the  Queen,  an  elegant  Tomb  or  Monu- 
mental Structure  has  been  Erected  on  the  spot  of  ground  at  Cambuskenneth, 
near  Stirling,  where  were  found  some  human  Remains,  supposed  to  be  those 
of  King  James  III.  and  his  Queen,  the  Princess  Margaret  of  Denmark.  The 
Royal  Remains  were  dug  up  in  the  course  of  some  excavations  which  were 
made  in  the  summer  of  last  year,  when  the  Foundations  of  the  ancient 
Abbey  were  laid  bare.  They  were  deposited  in  a  small  Oak  Box  furnished 
by  Sir  James  E.  Alexander,  of  Westerton,  and  properly  Sealed  up.  On 
Saturday  last,  they  were  Re-interred  in  a  Recess  in  the  Tomb,  which  has 
just  been  finished,  in  presence  of  John  Murrie,  Esq.,  Provost  of  Stirling; 
Treasurer  Rankin  ;  Councillor  Christie  ;  J.  D.  Marwick,  Esq.,  Town  Clerk, 
Edinburgh ;  Mr.  William  Mackison,  Architect,  Stirling ;  and  a  number  of 
other  Gentlemen.  The  Oak  Box,  which  had  been  kept  in  the  possession  of 
Mr.  Mackison  was  produced,  and  the  Seal  having  been  broken,  the  Bones 
were  laid  into  the  Recess  which  had  been  prepared  for  their  reception. 
Provost  Murrie  then  shortly  addressed  -those  present,  and  in  the  course  of 
his  remarks  stated  that  the  Memorial  did  great  honour  to  the  best  feelings 
of  her  Majesty.  The  Structure  was  highly  creditable  to  the  skill  and  taste 
of  the  Designer — Mr.  Matheson,  of  H.M.  Board  of  Works,  Edinburgh — and 
also  to  the  Contractor,  Mr.  Rhynd,  Edinburgh.  From  its  beautiful  situa- 
tion, surrounded  by  so  many  interesting  Historical  associations,  he  had  no 
doubt  the  Memorial  would  prove  a  great  attraction  to  the  numerous  strangers 
who  annually  visited  Stirling.  It  may  be  stated  the  Structure  is  built  of 
freestone.  It  is  about  4£  feet  in  height,  8  feet  long,  4£  feet  broad  at  the 
base,  and  about  3  feet  broad  at  the  top.  On  the  North  side  the  following 
Inscription  is  cut  in  raised  letters  :— "  This  Restoration  of  the  Tomb  of  her 
Ancestors  was  executed  by  command  of  her  Majesty,  Queen  Victoria,  A.D. 
1865."  On  the  South  there  is  the  following :— "  In  this  Place,  near  to  the 
High  Altar  of  the  Abbey  of  Cambuskenneth,  were  deposited  the  Remains  of 
James  the  Third,  King  of  Scots,  who  Died  the  llth  June,  1488,  and  of  his 
Queen,  the  Princess  Margaret  of  Denmark."  On  the  West  end  are  the 
Scotch  Arms,  with  the  Motto,  "  Nemo  me  impune  lacessit;"  and  on  the  East 
end  the  Scotch  Arms,  quartered  with  those  of  Denmark,  surrounded  by  a 
Scroll  of  Thistles. 

A  Leaden  Badge — the  Blessed  Virgin  seated  with  the  Holy 
Child  in  her  lap,  and  an  Angel  on  either  side;  diameter,  1J 
inches — found  near  the  Kuins  of  the  Abbey,  is  now  in  the 
Antiquarian  Museum,  Edinburgh. 


238  MONASTICON. 

VALUATION    OF    THE    ABBEY    OF    CAMBUSKENNETH. 

Money— £1067  Ss  ±d.  [£930  18*  4*d.  Keith.]  Wheat— 11  Chalders, 
11  Bolls,  2  Firlots  ;  Bear— 28  Chalders,  12  Bolls,  3  Firlots,  3£  Pecks  ;  Meal 
—31  Chalders,  6  Bolls,  3  Firlots,  3*  Pecks;  Oats— 19  Chalders,  15  Bolls, 
3  Firlots,  3i  Pecks. 


The  Priories  belonging  to  this  Abbacy  were  Insula  Sti. 
Colmoci  and  Kosneth. 

XVIII.  INCHMAHOME,  or  THE  ISLE  OF  SAINT  COLMOC, 

Is  three  and  a  half  miles  east  of  Aberfoyle,  in  Perthshire. 
It  is  said  to  have  been  Founded  by  Murdoch,  Earl  of  Monteith, 
who  was  killed  at  the  Battle  of  Dupplin,  A.D.  1332.  But  it  was 
certainly  Founded  before  his  time ;  for  we  find  in  Prynne's 
Collections,  vol.  in.,  p.  653,  that  "  Adam,  priour  de  Lisle  de 
Saint  Colmoch,"  swore  fealty  to  Edward  L,  A.D.  1296,  as  did 
also  Alexander,  Earl  of  Monteith,  father  to  the  above  Earl 
Murdoch.  It  was  also  united  by  King  James  IV.  to  his  Eoyal 
Chapel  of  Stirling.  Thereafter  it  was  dissolved  from  the  College, 
and  bestowed  by  King  James  V.  upon  John,  Lord  Erskine,  who 
was  Commendatory  Abbot  thereof,  and  afterwards  created  Earl 
of  Mar  by  Queen  Mary ;  and,  at  the  Death  of  Matthew,  Earl  of 
Lennox,  was  chosen  Regent,  A.D.  1571. 

Although  this  place  be  mentioned  in  most  of  our  old  Lists  of 
Religious  Houses  as  a  distinct  Monastery  from  that  of  the 
"  Insula  Sti.  Colmoci,"  yet,  for  very  good  reasons,  too  long  to  be 
inserted  here,  I  am  very  apt  to  believe  they  were  one  and  the 
same.  [Spottiswoode.] 

In  confirmation  of  this  opinion,  Major- General  Hutton,  in  a 
Letter  to  the  Rev.  William  MacGregor  Stirling,  Manse  of  Port 
(who  wrote  a  4to  Vol.,  pp.  201,  "Notes,  Historical  and  Descrip- 
tive, on  the  Priory  of  Inchmahome ;  with  Introductory  Verses, 
and  an  Appendix  of  Original  Papers,  1815"),  says  that,  "from 
the  Seal  of  the  Community  affixed  to  a  Grant  by  the  Prior  and 
Convent  of  a  Pension  to  an  Organist  for  the  Church  of  Inchma- 
homo,  Dated  1548,  he  is  satisfied  that  Inchmahomo  and  Insula 
Sancti  Colmoci  are  one  and  the  same  place." 


PBIOKY  OF  INCHMAHOME. 


239 


The  Founder  is  not  known,  but  it  is  conjectured  that  the 
Earls  of  Monteith  planted  a  Monastery  in  this  Vale ;  while  some 
Authors  opine  that  it  was  an  early  Culdee  Establishment,  which, 
being  laid  waste,  the  Canons  of  Cambuskenneth  began  to  repair, 
and  sent  certain  Keligious  there  (Canons-Kegular),  who  observed 
the  Augustinian  Eule.  But  their  Discipline  gradually  becoming 
deficient,  and  the  Canons  themselves  despised,  and  being  in  a 
sense  expelled  the  Island,  they  came  to  Cambuskenneth,  and  had 
the  Chapel  Royal  at  Stirling  appropriated  for  their  use.  The 

renowned  Mr.  Spottis- 
woode  thinks  that  this 
Monastery  is  the  same 
as  that  of  S.  Colme ; 
but  I  wish  that  at  least 
he  would  have  ad- 
duced probable  rea- 
sons for  such  an  asser- 
tion ;  for  I  find  that 
this  Monastery  is  men- 
tioned in  all  Cata- 
logues as  a  distinct 
one,  and  that  the  Mo- 
nastery of  S.  Colmebe- 
longed  to  the  Benedic- 
tine Order.  [Brockie's 
MS.,  p.  8290.] 

In  old  Writs,  the 
name  of  a  place  is 
often  spelled  six  or  ten 
different  ways  ;  and  so  we  find  Inschemmahame,  or  Innis-mo-thamh, 
i.e.,  "  Isle  of  my  Rest."  In  the  Deed  of  Appointment  to  Walter 
Cumyn,  it  is  called  Inchmaquomock ;  in  Bruce's  Writ,  Insula 
Sancti  Colmoci.  It  was  changed  then  to  Inchmahome,  or  Inch- 
mahomo,  probably  a  Latinized  corruption  of  the  original  Gaelic  ; 
or  it  may  be  a  corruption  of  Saint  Colmoc,  viz.,  Ma,  "good," 
and  Chambe,  "  Colmocus." 

In   the  Addenda,    by   Bowmaker   and   others,  to   Fordun's 


In  the  Upper  Compartment  is  a  Design  of  the  B. 
Virgin,  sitting  with  the  Infant  Jesus,  and  holding  a 
Lily  in  her  right  hand.  In  the  Lower  is  a  Figure  of 
a  Bishop,  in  Vestments,  bestowing  the  Benediction. 
A.D.  1562.  [Marr  Charters] 


240 


MONASTICON. 


"  Scotichronicon,"  it  is  asserted  that  Murdacus,  Earl  of  Mon- 
teith,  was  the  Founder  of  the  Augustinian  Monastery  of  S. 
Colmocus.  ["  Monasteria  Prioratuum  Scotiae,  et  de  eorum 
fundatoribus.  .Insula  Sancti  Colmoci,  ordinis  Augustini,  in 
Menteith,  cujus  fundator  Murdacus  Comes  ejusdem." — Goodall's 
Edition  of  Fordun,  p.  539.]  It  is,  indeed,  highly  probable  that 
Murdoch  Monteith,  Earl  of  Monteith  (and  father  of  the  two 
ladies,  to  the  elder  of  whom  Walter  Cumyng,  and  to  the  younger, 
Walter  Stewart,  was  Married),  brought  Monks  from  Cambusken- 
neth  to  Inschemachame  ;  for,  from  a  Document  which  Mr.  Mac- 
Gregor  Stirling  obtained  from  Mr.  Thomson,  the  Deputy-Begister 
of  Scotland,  it  appears  that,  previous  to  the  building  of  the 
Church,  Keligious  Men  had  been  settled  in  the  Island. 

With  regard  to  the  building  of  the  Church,  it  may  be  grati- 
fying to  the  Eeader  to  examine  the  Instrument  authorising 
Walter  Cumyng,  Earl  of  Monteith,  to  set  about  the  pious  work. 
Only  that  portion  is  inserted  which  relates  to  the  subject  of 
investigation. 


Universis  Christ!  Fidelibus  hoc 
scriptum  visuris  vel  audituris  Wil- 
lelmus  et  Galfridus  Dei  gratia 
Glasguen  et  Dunkelden  Episcopi 
eternana  in  Domino  Salutem.  Man- 
datum  Domini  Papse  in  hsec  verba 
suscepimus  :  "  Gregorius,  Episco- 
pus,  Servus  Servorum  Dei,  vene- 
rabilibus  Fratribus  Glasguen  et 
Dunkelden  Episcopis  Salutem  et 
Apostolicam  Benedictionem — Vene- 
rabilis  Frater  noster  Episcopus 
Dunblanen  in  nostra  proposuit  pre- 
sentia  constitutus ;  quod  cum  olim 
Ecclesia  Dunblanen  per  centum 

annos  et  amplius  vacauisset 

Datum  Viterbii  tertio  Idus  Junii 
Pontificatus  nostri  anno  undecimo. 

Hujus  igitur  auctoritate  mandati 
cum  tarn  dictus  Episcopus  Dun- 
blanen quam  Valterus  Cumyng 
comes  de  Menteth  in  nostra  pre- 
sentia  essent  constituti,  post  alter- 
cationes  ordinationi  nostre  se  sub- 
jecerunt  super  omnibus  contentioni- 
bus  et  querelis  inter  ipsos  motis, 


To  all  the  Faithful  of  Christ, 
about  to  see  or  hear  this  Writing, 
William  and  Galfred,  by  the  Grace 
of  God  Bishops  of  Glasgow  and 
Dunkeld,  eternal  salvation  in  the 
Lord, — We  have  received  the  Man- 
date of  our  Master,  the  Pope,  in 
these  words :  Gregory,  Bishop,  the 
Servant  of  the  Servants  of  God,  to 
the  Venerable  Brothers,  the  Bishops 
of  Glasgow  and  Dunkeld,  Health 
and  Apostolical  Benediction.  Our 
Venerable  Brother,  the  Bishop  of 
Dunblane,  hath,  in  our  presence, 
represented  that,  seeing  the  Church 
of  Dunblane  in  time  past  had  been 
vacant  for  a  hundred  years  and 
more,  &c 

Given  at  Vitervi,  on  the  third  of 
the  Ides  of  June,  in  the  eleventh 
year  of  our  Pontificate. 

By  the  authority,  therefore,  of 
this  Mandate,  seeing  the  said  Bishop 
of  Dunblane,  as  also  Walter  Cum- 
yng, Earl  of  Monteith,  having  ap- 
peared before  us,  after  discussions, 


PKIOKY  OF  INCHMAHOME. 


241 


vel  que  aliquo  tempore  poterint 
super  infrascriptis  mover!  et  super 
reformatione  status  Ecclesie  Dun- 
blanen ;  Nos  habito  vero  virorum 
prudentium  consilio  in  hunc  modum 
inter  eos  ordinavimus,  viz.,  Quod 
dictus  Episcopus  Dunblanensis 
nomine  Ecclesie  sue  pro  se  et  suc- 
cessoribus  suis  omnibus  renunciet 
omni  juri  quod  Episcopi  vel  Ante- 
cessores  sui  nomine  Ecclesise  Dun- 
blanen  habuerunt  vel  liabere  potu- 
erunt  vel  poterint  in  Terris  vel 
Denariis  receptis  de  Terris  et  in 
canis  omnibus  Ecclesiae  et  Denariis 
annuatim  ab  Ecclesiis  Comitatus  de 
Menteth  in  quibus  dictus  comes 
jus  obtinet  Patronatus,  nomine  pen- 
sionis  perceptis,  ut  dicebat  dictus 
Episcopus,  et  omnibus  querelis  ex- 
actionibus  vel  demandis  inter  eos 
motis,  vel  que  aliquo  tempore  ab 
ipso  vel  antecessoribus  suis  contra 
dictum  Comitem  vel  antecessores 
suos  moveri  poterant  vel  poterunt 
supra  predictis ;  Ordinavimus  etiam, 
Quod  licitum  sit  dicto  Comiti  et 
successoribus  suis,  Domum  Virorum 
Eeligiosum  Ordinis  Sancti  Augustini 
in  Insula  de  INCHMAQUHOMOK  con- 
struere,  sine  impedimento  vel  con- 
tradictione  dicti  Episcopi  vel  suc- 
cessorum  suorum ;  Assignavimus 
etiam  ex  collatione  dicti  Comitis  et 
de  voluntate  et  assensu  dicti  Epis- 
copi in  puram  et  perpetuam  elimo- 
sinam  illis  Viris  Eeligiosis  in  dicta 
Insula  Deo  servientibus  Ecclesias 
de  Lanyn  et  de  dicta  insula,  cum 
omnibus  libertatibus  et  aisiamentis 
ad  dictas  Ecclesias  pertinentibus, 
Salvis  Episcopalibus  dicto  Episcopo 
et  successoribus  suis  ;  Et  sciendum 
est,  Quod  non  licebit  dicto  Episcopo 
vel  successoribus  suis  in  dictis 
duabus  Ecclesiis  perpetuos  vicarios 
facere,  sed  honesti  capellani  Epis- 
copo presententur  qui  ipsi  de  cura 
animarum  et  de  spiritualibus  et 
Episcopalibus  respondeant.  Ordi- 
navimus insuper,  ut  dictus  comes 
VOL.  i.  2 


have  submitted  themselves  to  our 
appointment  in  all  disputes  and 
complaints  moved  between  them, 
or  which  at  any  time  could  or 
might  be  moved  concerning  the 
underwritten,  and  concerning  the 
reformation  of  the  Church  of  Dun- 
blane,— We,  having  taken  the  ad- 
vice of  discreet  men,  have  made  our 
appointment  between  them,  in  man- 
ner following,  viz., — That  the  said 
Bishop  of  Dunblane,  in  the  name 
of  his  Church,  for  himself,  and  all 
his  Successors,  shall  renounce  all 
right  which  the  said  Bishops  or 
their  Predecessors,  in  name  of  the 
Church  of  Dunblane,  have,  had,  or 
might  or  could  have,  in  Lands,  or 
in  Money-Kent  received  from  Lands, 
and  in  all  Eevenues  and  Kents 
annually  drawn  in  name  of  Pension 
from  the  Churches  of  the  Earldom 
of  Monteith,  in  which  the  said  Earl 
hath  a  Eight  of  Patronage,  as  al- 
leged by  the  said  Bishop ;  together 
with  all  complaints,  exactions,  or 
demands  moved  between  them,  or 
which  at  any  time  by  himself  have 
been,  or  could  have  been,  moved 
against  the  said  Earl,  or  his  Prede- 
cessors, in  the  premises :  We  have 
also  ordained  that  it  shall  be  lawful 
for  the  said  Earl  and  his  Successors 
to  build  a  house  for  Eeligious  Men 
of  the  Order  of  S.  Augustine,  in  the 
Island  of  INCHMAQUHOMOK,  without 
impediment  or  opposition  from  the 
said  Bishop  or  his  Successors.  And, 
moreover,  in  conformity  with  the 
collation  of  the  said  Earl,  and  with 
the  will  and  assent  of  the  said 
Bishop,  we  have  assigned,  in  pure 
and  perpetual  alms,  to  these  Eeligi- 
ous Men  serving  God  in  the  said 
Island,  the  Churches  of  Leny,  and 
of  the  said  Island,  with  all  the 
Liberties  and  Easements  belonging 
to  the  said  Churches,  reserving  his 
Episcopal  rights  to  the  said  Bishop 
and  his  Successors.  And  be  it 
known,  that  it  shall  not  be  lawful 


242 


MONASTICON. 


to  the  said  Bishop  or  his  Successors 
to  make  perpetual  Vicars  in  the  said 
two  Churches,  but  proper  Chaplains 
shall  he  presented  to  the  Bishop, 
who  shall  be  responsible  to  him  for 
the  cure  of  souls,  and  in  Spiritual 
and  Episcopal  matters.  We  have, 
moreover,  ordained  that  the  said 
Earl,  for  himself  and  his  Succes- 
sors, shall  grant  and  assign  the 
Church  of  Kippen  for  a  perpetual 
Canonryinthe  Church  of  Dunblane, 
reserving  to  himself  and  all  his 
Successors,  in  all  time  coming,  the 
right  of  presenting  to  the  said 
Canonry  as  often  as  it  shall  happen 
to  become  vacant.  We  ordain,  in 
like  manner,  that  the  said  Earl,  for 
himself  and  his  Successors,  shall 
yield  to  the  said  Bishop  and  his 
Successors,  whatever  right  he  has 
in  the  Church  of  Callander.  That, 
however,  this  our  Ordination  may 
remain  ratified  and  unshaken,  we 
have  adhibited  to  this  Writing  our 
own  Seals,  along  with  the  Seal  of 
the  said  Bishop  of  Dunblane,  before 
these  Witnesses  in  Council  at  Perth, 
in  the  year  of  Grace  One  Thousand 
Two  Hundred  and  Thirty-Eight,  in 
the  Octave  of  the  Holy  John  the 
Baptist,  to  wit — G.,  Bishop  of  Aber- 
don ;  the  Abbots  of  Aberbroth,  and 
of  Scone,  and  of  Cambuskenneth, 
and  of  Inchaffray;  Mr.  Peter  de 
Ramsay;  Mr.  M.,  Archdeacon  of 
Glasgow ;  Mr.  W.,  Dean  of  -Glas- 
gow ;  and  many  others. 

From  the  foregoing  Document,  it  would  appear  that  the 
Religious  House  of  Inschemachame  was  originally  in  the  Diocese 
of  Dunblane ;  and  we  are  thus  enabled,  so  far,  to  ascertain  the 
extent  of  this  Diocese  at  that  early  period,  when  (as  appears 
from  the  first  part  of  the  Voucher  now  quoted)  the  Church  of 
Dunblane  had  been  a  Century  since  the  building  of  it  without  a 
Roof. 

That  Cardross,  in  Monteith,  belonged  to  this  Priory,  appears 
from  an  Act  of  Parliament  in  the  Reign  of  James  VI.,  as  well  as 


pro  se  et  successoribus  suis  concedat 
et  assignet  Ecclesiam  de  Kippen  ad 
perpetuum  canonicatum  in  Ecclesia 
Dunblanensi,  Salvo  sibi  et  succes- 
soribus suis  omnibus  in  perpetuum 
jure  presentandi  ad  dictum  Canoni- 
catum quotiescunque  vacare  contige- 
rit;  Ordinavimus  similiter,  ut  idem 
comes  pro  se  et  successoribus  suis 
cedat  eidem  Episcopo  et  successori- 
bus suis  quicquid  juris  habuit  in 
Ecclesia  de  Callander.  Ut  autem 
hec  ordinatio  nostra  rata  et  incon- 
cussa  permaneat,  huic  scripto  Sigilla 
nostra  unacum  sigillo  dicti  Episcopi 
Dunblanensis  apposuimus,  his  Tes- 
tibus  existentibus  in  Consilio,  apud 
Perth,  Anno  Gratis  Millesimo  Du- 
centesimo  Tricesimo  Octavo  in  Oc- 
tabus  Sancti  Joannis  Baptisti, 
scilicet  G.  Episcopo  Aberdonen,  de 
Aberbroth  et  de  Scone  et  de  Cam- 
buskenneth et  de  Inchaffray  Abbati- 
bus,  Magistro  Petro  De  Eamsay, 
Magistro  M.  Archidecano  Glasguen, 
Magistro  W.  Decano  Glasguen  et 
multis  aliis. 

[From  "Notes  on  the  Priory  of 
Inchmahome,"  by  Rev.  W.  M. 
Stirling;  from  "  Regist.  Aber- 
broth," where  the  Bull  of  Pope 
Gregory  is  given  at  length,  A.D. 
1238 ;  and  also  from  "  Liber  In- 
side Missarum,  p.  xxix"~\ 


PEIOEY  OF  INCHMAHOME. 


243 


from  a  Charter  granted  by  this  Monarch.  The  Parliamentary 
Act  is  entitled — "Act  of  Annexation  of  Forfaultit  Landis  and 
Rentis  to  the  Crown ;"  and  the  Lands  of  Cardross  and  others 
are  therein  described  as  the  Feu-Lands  of  Inchmahomo. 

Of  the  Charter  by  James  VI.,  granting  the  Estate  and  Title 
of  Cardross,  with  the  additional  privilege  of  Assignation,  and 
Dated  Greenwich,  10th  June,  1610,  the  following  is  an  Extract : 
— "  It  is  decerned  and  declared,  that  all  the  Lands,  &c.,  which 
formerly  belonged  to  the  Priory  of  Inschemachame,  and  to  the 
Monasteries  of  Dryburgh  and  Cambuskenneth,  which  Benefices 
were  possessed  by  the  blood-relations  of  the  Family  in  all  time 

past  beyond  the  memory  of 
man,  are  by  us  disponed  to 
the  said  Earl  of  Mar,  to  his 
heirs-male  heritably  and  as- 
signs. Besides,  we  create  and 
constitute  the  said  John,  Earl 
of  Mar,  and  his  heirs-male, 
assigns  and  successors  in  the 
|  §  \  said  Lands  and  Barony  of 

'HALL  OF  REFECTORY. 

•    23  by  ILpace* 


GOHJECTURAL  GROUND  PUN  OF  PRIORY 
1815 


CHURCH     AND:  CHOIR    | — ] 

P  SO  ty  22  pace? 


GARDEN 


Cardross,  Free    Lords    and 
Barons  of  the  same." 

Of  the  Saint  to  whom, 
according  to  the  foregoing 
Account  (for  the  Mandate  of 
the  Bishops  of  Glasgow  and 
Dunkeld  takes  no  notice  of 
any  such  personage),  this 
Religious  Institution  was  Dedicated,  and  who  appears  in  his 
place  in  the  Seal  of  Inschemachame,  Mr.  Chalmers,  Author  of 
"Caledonia,"  quotes  a  MS.  of  Innes,  as  making  mention,  in  a 
List  of  the  earliest  Bishops  in  Scotland,  made  up  from  a  MS. 
Calendar  and  Missal  of  the  Diocese  of  St.  Andrews,  which 
belonged  to  the  Viscount  Arbuthnot,  and  from  the  Printed 
Breviary  of  Aberdeen,  1509.  In  this  Catalogue— where  we 
behold  S.  Madock  of  Kilmadock,  S.  Ronan  of  Kilmaronock,  S. 
Blane  of  Dunblane,  and  others,  making  twenty-four  in  all — a 


244  MONASTICON. 

month  and  a  particular  day  are  mentioned  in  connexion  with 
each  Bishop,  but  no  year.     [Caledonia,  vol.  i.,  p.  322.] 

There  were  at  least  four  Chapels  attached  to  the  Priory  of 
Inschemachame.  One  at  the  East  end  of  the  Lake,  about  a 
furlong  North  from  its  outlet,  close  to  the  shore ;  another  at 
Arnchly,  "the  Field  of  the  Sword,"  about  a  mile  from  the  West 
end  of  the  Lake ;  a  third  at  Chapellaroch,  in  the  Barony  of 
Drummond.  An  Inventory  of  the  iron  work — "in  all,  fourtie- 
six  stenchers,  eight  cleeks,  and  the  iron  yait" — of  this  Keligious 
House,  made  in  1678,  is  among  the  Monteith  Papers  at  Gart- 
more.  Both  the  last-mentioned  places  belong  to  his  Grace  the 
Duke  of  Montrose.  And  there  was  a  fourth  Chapel,  at  what  long 
ago  was  the  Property  of  the  Family  of  Drummond,  Balquahapple. 
All  these  places  (except  Arnchly,  where  the  Military  circumstance 
has  prevailed  over  the  Ecclesiastical),  retain  the  name  of  Chapel. 
It  illustrates  the  connexion  of  the  Drummonds  with  Inschema- 
chame— that  two  of  the  four  Chapels  attached  to  the  Priory  were 
on  their  Lands. 

Eobert  the  Bruce  was  in  Inschemachame  on  the  15th  of 
April,  1310,  being  nearly  the  intermediate  point  of  time  between 
his  Coronation  and  the  Battle  of  Bannockburn.  This  appears 
from  a  Writ  by  him,  recorded  in  the  Chartulary  of  Arbroath. 

In  the  official  Publication  of  the  Index  of  the  Eecord  of 
Charters,  &c.,  by  different  Sovereigns  of  Scotland,  we  find  that 
David  II.  grants  to  the  Prior  of  Inschemachame  a  Charter  for 
the  payment  of  an  annual  Salary  of  JC35  Sterling.  This  circum- 
stance may  have  caused  the  Tradition  of  David  I.'s  being  the 
Founder  of  the  Priory.  ["  Carta  to  the  Prior  of  Inchmahome  of 
an  annual  of  700s.  Sterling,  furth  of  the  Sheriff's  Offices  of  Fyfe 
and  Perth."— No.  XXII.,  David  II.,  Eobertson's  Index  of 
Charters.] 

The  beauteous  Queen  Mary,  when  a  child  of  5  years,  found 
repose  in  Inschemachame,  soon  after  the  disastrous  Battle  of 
Pinkey,  fought  on  the  10th  of  September,  1547.  [Chalmers, 
Author  of  "  Caledonia."] 

At  the  request  of  the  Duke  of  Montrose,  the  Lands  of  Card- 
ross  were  transferred  to  his  Grace,  along  with  the  Eastern  half 


PEIOEY  OF  INCHMAHOME:  245 

of  the  Island,  and  now -forms  part  of  the  Monteith  Estate,  which 
had  before  comprehended  the  Western  half  of  this  romantic 
retreat  as  an  Orchard. 

The  existing  extensive  Kuins  shew  that  this  Priory  was  rich 
in  Architectural  taste,  and  placed  in  one  of  Nature's  loveliest 
spots.  Embosomed  among  fine  old  trees,  are  still  standing  one 
elegant  Gothic  Arch,  a  considerable  portion  of  Wall,  and  the 
Dormitory.  The  Vaults  have  long  been  the  Burying-place  of  the 
Grahams  of  Gartmore. 

In  the  Choir  of  the  Church  are  recumbent  sculptured  Figures 
of  the  last  Earl  and  Countess,  who  bore  the  now  dormant  Title 
of  Monteith.  An  Engraving  of  them  is  in  Stirling's  Inchmakome, 
noticed  above,  whose  labours  have  been  here  used  by  me. 

One  of  the  Spanish  Chesnut  Trees  in  the  Island  of  Inschema- 
chame,  measures,  at  the  ground  and  springing  of  the  branches, ' 
18  feet  in  circumference.  This  and  several,  to  the  number  of 
about  a  dozen,  are  said  to  be  above  three  centuries  old;  a 
circumstance  which  was  ascertained  at  the  thinning  of  the 
Timber  100  years  since,  by  counting  the  rings. 

TALLA, 

In  Gaelic,  "  Hall,"  or  "  Great  Man's  House,"  corruptly  spelled  "  Tulla" 
in  Stobie's  Map  of  Perthshire.  Talla  is  the  name  of  the  Island  second  in 
size  in  the  Lake  of  Inschemachame.  It  contains  a  Seat  of  the  Earls  of 
Monteith,  in  Kuins. 

The  House  of  Talla  (apparently  built  with  the  stones  of  the  Church  of 
Inschemachame)  was  divided  into  three  Apartments.  In  the  lower  Storey 
was  "  the  Hall,"  latterly  furnished  with  a  "  Pair  of  Virginalls,"  and  with 
"my  Lord  and  Ladyes  Portraits,  and  Hingings  before  them,"  and  "  ane 
House-Knock,  with  the  Caise  thereof,"  &c.  The  Fire-place  is  still  visible  in 
the  Western  Gable.  At  each  end,  and  (as  is  indicated  by  existing  appear- 
ances) in  upper  Storeys,  entered  respectively  by  an  outer  Door  in  the  Gable, 
and  not  encroaching  on  the  Ground  Floor,  was  a  Koom,  each  containing  "a 
Standing  Bed,"  and  other  corresponding  Furniture.  In  a  small  Tower 
behind,  and  communicating  with  "  the  Hall,"  were  three  Kooms,  in  three 
different  Storeys,  the  upper  of  which  were  accessible  by  a  Staircase  at  the 
South- West  Corner.  The  Middle  Flat,  according  to  an  Inventory  made  on 
the  17th  of  March,  1692,  was  "my  Ladyes  Chamber;"  but  in  another 
Inventory,  made  after  her  Death,  is  set  down  as  "  my  Lord's."  The  Ground 
Floor  is  named  "  the  Laigh  Back-Koum."  The  Attic  Storey,  in  the  Inven- 
tory of  1692,  is  called  « the  Wardrobe ;"  but,  in  that  of  1694,  is  styled  "the 


246 


MONASTICON. 


SKETCH  OF  TALLA. 


Chamber  above  iny  Lord's,"  and  (as  appears  from  the  last-mentioned  Paper) 
served  the  double  purpose  of  Wardrobe  and  Bed  Koom.  The  Apartment 
yclept  "the  Brew- House  Chamber,"  was  on  the  East  side  of  the  Island; 
and,  according  to  both  the  recently  quoted  Vouchers,  was  "hunge  with 
green,"  and  furnished  with  two  Beds,  one  of  "  green  stufTe,  with  rods  and 

pands  conforme,"  the  other  of  "red  scarlet 
cloath."  "  The  Brew-House  Chamber  "  was, 
moreover,  decorated  with  a  Ked  Table  Cloth, 
and  "a  Ked  Scarlet  Eesting  Chair."  The 
Brew-House  of  the  noble  Family  of  Mon- 
teith  seems  to  have  possessed  many  attrac- 
tions ;  for  not  only  were  there  above  it  the 
gorgeous  Apartment  now  described,  but 
likewise  attached  to  its  steaming  sides  a 
pair  of  what  were  descriptively  termed 
"  to-falls,"  set  out  with  three  Beds,  one 
"brown,"  and  the  others  "red."  On  the 
West  side  of  this  "  snug  little  Island,"  were 
the  Oven,  the  Kitchen,  and  the  Servants' 
Apartments  built  of  round  land  stones.  On 
the  South,  stood,  frowning,  the  highest  of 
all  the  Edifices  of  Talla,  constructed  of 
the  same  rude  materials.  Its  Heraldic 
Devices  are  partly  abstracted,  and  no  Ac- 
count can  be  given  of  its  Foundation,  nor 

indeed  of  that  of  any  of  the  more  modern  Structures  adjacent.  From 
one  of  these  Devices,  where  the  Crest,  representing,  as  is  believed,  an 
Eagle  coupe,  is  above  a  Shield,  the  Charge  of  which  is  not  legible,  it 
would  appear  that  the  oldest  Building  was  erected  after  the  introduction  of 
the  first-mentioned  Emblem  into  Armorial  Bearings. 

DOG  ISLE. 

To  the  Westward  of  Talla,  at  the  distance  of  above  a  furlong,  is  the 
Dog  Isle,  not  many  yards  in  circumference,  said  to  have  been  used  by  the 
Earls  as  a  Kennel.  At  the  West  end  of  the  Lake,  on  the  Mainland,  were 
their  Stables,  since  razed  to  the  foundation,  but  still  giving  their  name  to  the 
ground  where  they  stood.  On  the  Northern  shore,  around  the  romantic  Hill 
of  Coldon,  and  on  the  Farm  now  called  Portend,  were  the  Pleasure  Grounds 
of  these  Noblemen,  where  are  yet  many  stately  trees  in  the  Park  taste. 
Combined  with  the  more  aerial  foliage  of  Inschemachame  and  Talla,  these 
nobles  of  the  vegetable  kingdom  impart  to  the  scenery  a  unique  and  classic 
air,  compensating  somewhat  for  the  want  of  that  primeval  majesty  which 
marks  the  Grampian  Lakes,  and  tempts  the  Tourist,  after  having  accustomed 
his  eye  to  the  exclusive  contemplation  of  them,  to  exclaim  of  Inschema- 


PKIOKY  OF  KOSNETH.  247 

chame  (situated  as  it  is,  in  a  Country  champaign  on  all  sides  but  one,  and, 
though  distant  70  miles,  rising  only  a  few  feet  above  the  level  of  the  ocean), 
"  Qu'  il  est  trop  tranquille." 

The  climate  here  is  mild.  Snow  falls  in  small  quantities,  and  soon 
melts.  The  Landscape  early  assumes  the  livery  of  Spring,  and  early  acquires 
the  appropriate  hues  of  after  Seasons.  To  describe  the  exquisite  beauty  of 
Inschemachame  and  Talla,  arrayed  in  the  many-coloured  but  harmonious 
robe  of  Autumn,  and  reflected  in  "the  liquid  plain"  beneath,  that  ''stands 
unmoved,  pure  as  the  expanse  of  heaven," — to  clothe  in  syllables  the  soft 
Monastic  repose  that  sends  the  soul  back  to  the  days  of  yore,  and  pictures 
to  fancy's  eye  scenes  long  ere  now  transacted, — were  utterly  impracticable. 

Seen  from  Inschemachame,  the  little  Island  of  Talla,  tufted  with  trees, 
through  which  ruins  peep  out,  form  an  interesting  middle  ground,  of  which 
Ben  Lomond,  once,  to  appearance,  the  ^Etna  of  Britain,  with  some  minor 
Mountains,  and  the  House  of  Gartmore  nearer  than  either,  constitute  the 
distance.  The  Western  Bay  of  Inschemachame  is  often  calm  even  amid  the 
raging  of  the  tempest,  and  affords  to  the  Landscape  a  fore-ground  of  no 
ordinary  class. 

VALUATION    OF    THE    PKIOKY    OF    INCHMAHOME. 

Money,  £234.     [Keith.]    Bear— 7  Chatters;  Meal— 59  Chatters,  13  Bolls, 

1  Firlot,  8£  Pecks. 

XIX.  KOSNETH. 

The  ancient  Church  of  Neueth,  which  is  said  to  have  heen 
Dedicated  to  S.  Nicholas,  was  situated  on  the  Eos  or  Promontory 
in  the  District  of  Neueth.  The  Church  of  Kosneth,  however, 
was  Dedicated,  not  to  S.  Nicholas,  but  to  S.  Modan,  Abbot 
and  Confessor,  who  withdrew  from  the  Monastery  at  Fal- 
kirk,  where  he  had  Converted  the  surrounding  Tribes,  "to  the 
Western  Coast  of  Scotland,  not  far  from  Dunbertane  and  Loch 
Garloch,  in  a  lonely  spot  sequestered  from  men  by  waves  and 
mountains ;  there  is  the  Parish  Church  of  Kosneth  Dedicated  in 
honour  of  him,  and  there  do  his  Relics  rest  in  honour,  in  a  Chapel 
of  the  Cemetery  of  that  Church."  [Aberdeen  Breviary.]  At  a 
short  distance  from  the  Castle  of  Rosneth,  it  stood  close  by  the 
shore,  upon  the  site  of  the  present  Church ;  and,  deriving  its 
name  from  its  situation,  was,  from  the  earliest  Notices  of  it, 
indifferently  called  the  Church  of  Neueth,  or  the  Church  of  Ros- 
neth. At  a  much  later  period,  the  Parish  was  known  as  "the 
Parochine  without  and  within  the  Isle."  About  1620,  Parlia- 


248  MONASTICON. 

ment  was  petitioned  to  transport  the  Kirk  of  Rosneth  to  the 
Lands  of  Ardinconnel,  on  the  Mainland;  and,  between  1643  and 
1648,  the  Boundaries  between  it  and  Cardross  were  settled,  and 
the  new  Parish  of  Row  was  erected  out  of  them. 

At  what  time  the  Church  of  Neueth  was  Founded  is  uncertain. 
The  earliest  Notice  of  it  occurs  in  the  Grant  which  Alwyn,  Earl 
of  Lennox,  made  to  the  Church  of  Kilpatrick  before  1199,  and 
which  was  Witnessed  by  Michael  Gilmodyn,  Parson  of  Neueth. 

Amelec  (also  called  Auleth),  a  younger  son  of  Alwyn,  and 
who  seems  to  have  had  this  District  as  his  inheritance,  Granted 
the  Church  of  Rosneth,  with  all  its  just  Pertinents,  in  pure  and 
perpetual  alms,  to  the  Monks  of  Paisley,  to  be  held  by  them  as 
freely  as  their  other  Churches,  acquired  by  gift  of  the  Patrons. 
This  Grant  was  Confirmed  by  Amelec's  brother,  Earl  Maldoven, 
and  subsequently  by  King  Alexander  at  Trefquer  [Traquair],  on 
the  12th  of  March,  1225. 

About  the  same  time,  Amelec  granted  a  Salt-Pan  in  his 
Land  of  Rosneth  to  the  Monks  of  Paisley;  and  to  this  gift, 
Nevinus,  Parson  of  Neueth,  and  Gilmothan,  son  of  the  Sacristan 
of  Neueth,  are  Witnesses. 

In  the  settlement  of  a  Dispute  which  arose  between  Walter, 
Bishop  of  Glasgow,  and  William,  Abbot  of  Paisley,  regarding 
the  Vicarial  Churches  held  by  the  Monks  in  the  Diocese  of 
Glasgow,  and  which  the  Bishop,  acting  under  a  recent  Statute  of 
General  Council,  was  grievously  oppressing,  it  was  appointed  by 
amicable  Compositors,  in  the  Church  of  Peebles,  on  Tuesday 
before  the  Feast  of  S.  Martin,  1227,  that  the  Church  of  Neueth 
should  be  ceded  to  the  Monks  in  proprios  usus,  and  exempted 
from  the  payment  of  Procurations,  on  condition  that  they  should 
present  to  the  Church  a  fit  Secular  Chaplain,  who  should  answer 
to  the  Bishop  cle  Episcopalians.  [Reg.  de  Passelet,  and  Orig. 
Paroch,  vol.  ?'.,  p.  28.] 

In  the  time  of  Congal,  S.  Modan  and  his  Brethren  took  up 
their  abode  here,  and  erected  a  remarkable  Monastery.  He  was 
the  Father  of  very  many  Monks,  and  an  Abbot.  Boethius  is 
cited  to  prove  that  he  was  probably  a  Bishop.  There  seem  to 
have  been  two  of  this  name — the  senior  dwelt  here  at  Rosneth ; 


ABBEY  OF  JEDBUEGH.  249 

and  Boethius,  Leslie,  and  others,  say  that  the  younger  was  an 
Abbot  of  Dryburgh.  The  Aberdeen  Breviary  states  that  the 
senior  S.  Modan  lived  not  far  from  Dumbarton  and  the  Gare 
Loch,  at  Kosneth,  where  he  was  Buried ;  and  also  notices  S. 
Modan  at  length.  Rosneth  was  also  called  Kilmodin — i.e.,  "the 
Cell  of  S.  Modan."  The  Monastery  was  burned  by  the  Danes. 

The  Register  of  Paisley  contains  the  following  Charters  : — 

1.  Chart  of  Amelec,  brother  of  Maldovene,  the  Earl  of  Lennox,  granting 
the  Church  of  Eosneth  to  the  Monks  of  Paisley,  A.D.  1225. 

2.  Confirmation  of  the  above  by  Maldovene,  A.D.  1225. 

3.  Confirmation  of  the  above  by  Alexander,  King  of  Scotland,  A.D.  1225. 

4.  Chart  of  Amelec,  giving  a  Salt-Pan  in  Eosneth,  and  a  Net  to  catch 
Salmon  and  other  Fish  over  the  whole  of  the  Gare  Loch,  to  the  Monks  of 
Paisley,  about  A.D.  1230. 

5.  Confirmation  of  the  above  by  Maldovene,  same  year. 

6.  Chart  of  Hanel',  brother  of  Maldovene,  giving  a  Salt-Pan  in  Eosneth 
to  the  Monks  of  Paisley,  same  Date.    [Brockie's  MS.,  p.  4051.] 

VALUATION    OF    THE    PEIOEY    OF    ROSNETH. 

No  information. 

XX.  JEDBURGH,  or  JEDWORTH,     A.D.  1118, 

In  Teviotdale,  was  an  Abbey,  Dedicated  to  the  Blessed  Virgin 
Mary,  situated  on  the  West  side  of  the  River  Jed,  near  to  the 
place  where  it  falls  into  the  Eiver  Teviot.  King  David  I. 
Founded  this  Place  for  Canons  brought  from  Beauvais  (Bellova- 
cum),  who  were  there  established  by  Yvo  Carnutensis,  in  a 
Monastery  Dedicated  to  S.  Quintine,  "  in  monasterio  Sti.  Quintini 
Bellovacensis,"  whereof  he  was  Provost,  before  he  became  Bishop 
of  Chartres.  It  was  erected  into  a  Temporal  Lordship  in  favour 
of  Sir  Andrew  Ker,  of  Ferniherst,  ancestor  to  the  Marquis  of 
Lothian,  2nd  February,  1622.  [Spottiswoode.] 

In  Origines  Paroehiales,  Jedburgh  is  spelled  82  different  ways. 

Wyntoun,  in  his  Chronicle,  dates  the  Foundation  of  the 
Abbey  in  1118,  which,  however,  was  only  a  Priory  till  about 
1150. 

Sir  James  Dalrymple  says  that  he  had  seen  "  a  Copy  of  the 
Charter  of  Foundation  by  King  David,"  and  adds,  "All  that  I 

VOL.  I.  2  I 


250  MONASTICON. 

can  say  of  this  Abbacy  is,  that  it  is  probable  it  was  anciently  a 
Keligious  House  or  Monastery,  and  sometimes  in  the  possession 
of  the  Church  of  Durham ;  and  so  more  of  the  nature  of  a 
Dunelmian  than  Culdean  Monastery.  It  was  governed  at  first 
by  a  Prior.  I  think  the  Priory  has  been  changed  to  an  Abbacy 
about  the  end  of  the  Keign  of  King  David." 

After  that  Monarch  had  Founded  the  Monastery  of  S.  Mary  of 
Jedworde,  and  established  the  Augustinian  Canons  there,  he 
Granted  or  Confirmed  to  them  the  said  Monastery  with  all  its  Per- 
tinents, part  of  which  appears  to  have  been  previously  Granted  by 
the  Earls  Gospatrick,  and  which  included  the  Tithes  of  the  Towns 
of  the  whole  Parish,  viz.,  of  the  two  Jeddword,  Langton,  Nesbyt, 
the  Sheriff  Gospatrick's  Creling,  the  Tithes  of  the  other  Creling 
the  Town  of  Orm  the  son  of  Eylav,  and  of  Scrauesburghe.  The 
Grant  of  Gospatrick's  Creling  was  Confirmed  to  the  Canons  by 
his  Chaplain,  who  Officiated  there ;  and  the  whole  Grant  of  the 
Monastery,  with  its  Possessions,  was  Confirmed  to  them  between 
1147  and  1152  by  Prince  Henry,  about  1165  by  King  William 
the  Lion,  and  probably  between  1214  and  1249  by  King  Alex- 
ander II. 

The  Charter  of  King  William,  which  included  various  extra- 
Parochial  Possessions,  Confirmed  to  the  Canons  the  following 
Grants,  viz. : — Of  King  David's  Grant,  the  Monastery  of  Jedde- 
worth  with  all  its  Pertinents ;  the  Chapel  also  which  was  Founded 
in  the  Forest  Glade  opposite  Xernwingeslawe ;  the  Tithe  of  the 
King's  whole  hunting  in  Theuietedale ;  Ulueston,  Alnecliue  near 
Alnecrumb,  Crumesethe,  Kapeslawe,  with  the  right  Boundaries 
pertaining  to  these  Towns ;  one  House  in  the  Burgh  of  Koch- 
burg  ;  one  House  in  Berewic ;  a  third  House  also  in  the  same 
Berewic  upon  Tuede,  with  its  circumjacent  Toft;  one  Stream 
which  is  opposite  the  Island  called  Tonsmidhop  ;  Eadwardesle  ; 
Pasture  for  their  Cattle  along  with  those  of  the  King ;  Timber 
and  Wood  from  his  Forests  according  to  their  wants,  except  in 
Quikeheg ;  the  Multure  of  the  Mill  from  all  the  men  of  Jedde- 
worth  ubi  castellum  est;  one  Salt-Pan  near  Streuelin;  Kule 
Hereuei,  according  to  its  right  Boundaries  and  just  Pertinents, 
exchanged  for  a  Ten-Pound  Land  which  the  Canons  had  in 


ABBEY  OF  JEDBUEGH.  251 

Hardinghestorn. — Of  the  Grant  of  his  brother,  King  Malcolm, 
the  Church  of  Barton  and  the  Church  of  Grendon ;  and  in  his 
Burgh  of  Jeddeworth,  one  Toft  and  seven  Acres ;  and  in  their 
Houses  which  they  had  in  his  Burgh  of  Berewic,  such  liberty 
that  none  of  the  King's  servants  should  presume  to  exact  the 
Tuns  in  which  Wine  was  brought  thither  by  merchants,  and 
which  were  emptied  there ;  and  one  Fishing  in  the  Tuede,  that, 
namely,  which  was  above  the  Bridge,  which  William  of  Lamberton 
resigned  to  the  King's  grandfather. — By  the  Grant  of  the  Sheriff 
Gospatrick,  a  Ploughgate  and  a  half  and  three  Acres  of  Land, 
with  two  Houses  in  Craaling. — By  the  Grant  of  Berengarius 
Engain,  one  Mark  of  Silver  in  the  Mill  of  the  same  Craaling,  and 
two  Oxgangs  of  Land,  with  one  Villain  and  one  Toft ;  and  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  Chaplain  who  should  Minister  in  the 
Chapel  of  the  same  Town,  other  two  Oxgangs  of  Land  with 
another  Toft ;  and  one  other  Toft  near  the  Church. — By  the 
Grant  of  David  Olifar,  the  Tithe  of  the  Mill  of  the  same  Craaling. 
—By  the  Grant  of  Orom  the  son  of  Eilau,  one  Ploughgate  of  Land 
in  the  other  Craaling. — By  the  Grant  of  Kicharcl  Inglis,  two  Ox- 
gangs  of  Land  in  Scrauesburg,  and  two  Oxgangs  in  Langeton. — 
By  the  Grant  of  Gamel,  the  Clerk,  Caueruni,  given  with  consent 
of  his  sons,  Osulf  and  Vghtred. — By  the  Grant  of  Margaret,  the 
wife  of  Thomas  de  London,  with  consent  of  the  same  Thomas, 
and  of  Henry  Louel,  the  son  of  the  same  Margaret,  Vghtredsxaghe 
with  its  right  Boundaries. — By  the  Grant  of  Christian,  the  wife 
of  Geruase  Kidel,  the  third  part  of  the  Town  of  Xernwingeslawe. 
—By  the  Grant  of  Geoffry  de  Perci,  the  Church  of  Oxenham,  with 
two  Ploughgates  of  Land,  and  two  Oxgangs  adjacent  to  the  same 
Church ;  and  the  Common  Pasture  and  Common  Fuel  of  the 
same  Oxenham;  and  Niwebigginghe,  and  Pasture  and  Fuel  in 
common  with  the  other  men  of  the  same  Town  of  Oxenham, 
which  Niwebigginghe,  Henry  de  Perci,  after  the  death  of  the 
foresaid  Geoffry,  his  brother,  Confirmed  to  the  Canons  in  presence 
of  King  William's  brother,  Malcolm.— By  the  Grant  of  Kadulph, 
the  son  of  Dunegal,  and  Bethoc,  his  wife,  one  Ploughgate  of 
Land  in  Rughechestre,  and  the  Common  Pasture  of  the  same 
Town.— By  the  Grant  of  Turgot  of  Rossedale,  the  Eeligious 


252  MONASTICON. 

House  of  Lidel,  with  the  whole  Land  adjacent  to  it  ;  the  Church 
also  of  Kirchander,  with  all  its  Pertinents.  —  By  the  Grant  of  Guy 
of  Kossedale,  with  consent  of  Ealph,  his  son,  forty-two  Acres 
between  Esch  and  Lidel,  where  they  meet,  and  the  freedom  of 
the  Water  from  the  Moat  of  Lidel  to  the  Church  of  Lidel.  —  By 
the  Grant  of  Kanulph  de  Solis,  the  Church  of  the  Valley  of 
Lidel,  and  the  Church  of  Dodington,  near  Berton,  and  half  a 
Ploughgate  of  Land  in  Nasebith.  —  By  the  Grant  of  Geruase 
Eidel,  who  afterwards  became  a  Canon  of  Jeddeworth,  and  of 
Kalph,  his  brother,  the  Church  of  Alboldesle,  with  all  its 
Pertinents  and  Eights.  —  By  the  grant  of  William  de  Vipont,  one 
Ploughgate  of  the  land  of  his  Demesne  in  Caredene,  with  the 
Common  Easement  of  the  Town. 

In  the  Keign  of  King  Alexander  II.,  there  occurred  a  Dispute 
between  the  Bishop  of  Glasgow  (Walter) 
and  the  Canons  of  Jedburgh,  regarding 
various  Churches,  which,  in  1220,  was  ter- 
minated by  the  decision  of  five  Arbiters  in 
the  Chapel  of  Nesbite.  The  decision  bore 
in  general,  "  That  if  at  any  time  the  Bishop 
or  his  Official  should  regularly  pronounce 
sentence  against  the  Canons  of  Jeddewrde 
or  their  conversi,  it  should  be  reverenced, 
observed,  and  obeyed,  saving  the  Privileges 
of  either  party  ;  that  those  who  were  rebel- 
lious and  disobedient,  should  be  compelled 

A  Female  Figure  sitting  ,        i     -i  •  T  P  ,  -,      ™ 

before  a  Lectern,  on  which  to  °»edience  by  censure  oftae  Church  ;  that 
is  a  Book,  which  she  holds  the  Chaplain  whose  duty  it  was  to  minister 
open  with  her  left  hand,  in  the  Parish  Church  of  Jeddewrde,  should 

her  right  holding  the  Cro-  -,  ,     ,  ,,       _..  ..  ,  .     '   '       .    , 

zier;  her  head  is  inclined  ®Q  Presented  to  the  Bishop  or  his  Official, 
upwards,  as  if  engaged  in  should  pay  them  due  Canonical  obedience 


r  and  reverence,  as  in  duty  bound,  and  should 

1220.    [Metros  Charters.]     ,  .£  -, 

nave  free  ingress  to  the  Celebration  of  Divine 
Service,  and  to  Oil,  Chrism,  the  Holy  Eucharist,  and  all  the 
necessary  Christian  Sacraments  ;  that  the  Abbot  of  Jeddewrde 
should,  according  to  ancient  custom,  go  in  person  to  the  Festival 
of  the  Dedication  of  the  Church  of  Glasgow,  or,  if  prevented 


ABBEY  OF  JEDBUEGH.  253 

by  any  reasonable  cause,  should  send  a  suitable  Procurator,  and 
that  he  should  not  neglect  to  attend  Synod  when  summoned." 

At  the  second  Nuptials  of  Alexander  III.,  who  was  Married 
at  Jedburgh,  October  14,  1285,  to  Jolande,  daughter  of  the 
Count  of  Dreux,  in  the  midst  of  the  Koyal  Banquet,  at  the 
Theatrical  Masque,  previously  arranged,  a  Phantom  Skeleton 
appeared,  gliding  among  dancers  and  choristers,  the  omen  of  the 
King's  approaching  death,  by  a  fall  from  his  horse  at  Kinghorn, 
in  Fife.  All  Annalists  note  this  Incident ;  and  it  is  even  to  be 
found  in  "  Wilson's  Tales  of  the  Borders."  It  occurred  while 
John  Morel  was  Abbot. 

During  this  Century,  the  Abbey,  like  many  other  Monastic 
Foundations,  appears  to  have  been  a  ^Repository  of  Family 
Charters.  Among  the  Parchments  found  in  the  Castle  of  Edin- 
burgh in  1292,  and  ordered  by  Edward  I.  to  be  delivered  to  King 
John  Balliol,  there  was  one  entitled,  "A  Letter  of  William  de 
Fentone,  Andrew  de  Bosco,  and  David  de  Graham,  acknow- 
ledging receipt  from  Master  William  Wyscard,  Archdeacon  of  St. 
Andrews,  and  Chancellor  to  the  King,  of  certain  Documents 
deposited  in  the  Abbey  of  Geddeworth  by  umquhile  John  Biset, 
the  son  of  Sir  John  Biset." 

John,  Abbot  of  Jeddeworth,  in  1290,  concurred  in  the 
proposal  of  Marriage  between  the  son  of  Edward  I.  and  Margaret 
of  Norway,  and,  in  1292,  had  a  present  of  six  Stags  sent 
him  by  that  Monarch  from  the  Forest  of  Selkirk,  and  was  present 
at  Newcastle  when  King  John  Balliol  did  homage  to  Edward  as 
Overlord  of  Scotland.  In  1296,  he,  along  with  his  whole  Con- 
vent, swore  fealty  to  Edward,  and  was  restored  to  possession  of 
the  Conventual  Domains. 

In  the  same  year,  the  English  King  ordered  the  Canons  of 
Jeddeworth  to  receive  into  their  Monastery,  and  support  during 
life,  "  Thomas  of  Byrdeleye,  Clerk,"  who  had  been  recently 
mutilated  by  the  Scots  in  Northumberland. 

In  the  subsequent  Wars  (1297-1300),  the  Abbey  was  plun- 
dered, burnt,  and  destroyed,  the  lead  was  stripped  from  the  Koof 
of  the  Church,  and  retained  by  Sir  Kichard  Hastings  after  its 
restoration  had  been  ordered  by  the  King,  and  the  Canons  were 


254  MONASTICON. 

reduced  to  such  destitution,  that  Edward  himself  gave  them  -an 
asylum  in  different  Eeligious  Houses  in  England,  until  their 
Monastery  should  be  repaired. 

King  Kohert  Bruce,  between  1306  and  1329,  Confirmed  to 
the  Canons  of  Jedburgh  the  Teinds  of  the  two  Jedburghs  and 
Langtoun,  the  Chapel  of  Nisbet,  and  the  Teinds  of  Craling, 
granted  them  by  the  Earls  Gospatrick ;  the  Teinds  of  the  Parish 
of  Jedwart,  Langtoun,  Nisbet,  and  Craling,  with  the  Foundation 
of  the  Chapel  thereof  (viz.,  of  Craling),  granted  by  King  David 
I. ;  and  the  -Charters  of  Confirmation  of  Prince  Henry,  of  King 
William,  and  of  King  Alexander.  From  the  time  of  King  Kobert 
till  the  Reformation,  the  History  of  the  Church  of  Jedburgh  is 
almost  a  blank.  Throughout  that  period  the  Monastic  Buildings 
frequently  sustained  injury  in  times  of  war,  especially  at  the 
memorable  Storming  of  Jedburgh  by  the  Earl  of  Surrey  in  1523, 
when  the  Abbey  held  out  against  the  English  for  a  whole  day. 

The  Abbey  never  recovered  from  the  destruction  which  it 
suffered  from  Eurie  in  1544,  when  his  gunners  turned  their 
pieces  on  the  Building,  which  they  took  and  burned.  In  the 
same  year,  Hertford  laid  the  Abbey  in  greater  Ruins'.  The  whole 
Establishment  being  suppressed  at  the  "  Reformation  "  in  1599, 
its  Revenues  were  afterwards  annexed  to  the  Crown ;  but  part  of 
them  was  enjoyed  by  the  last  Abbot,  Andrew.  Sir  Alexander 
Ker,  the  Laird  of  Ferniherst  (ancestor  to  the  Marquis  of 
Lothian),  had  long  exercised  the  Office  and  authority  of  Bailie 
of  the  Monastery,  as  well  as  of  the  Forest  of  Jedburgh.  In 
1587,  the  Bailery  of  the  Abbey  was  continued  or  restored  to  the 
same  Family  by  a  Grant  of  James  VI.  to  Sir  Andrew  Ker ;  and, 
in  1622,  the  entire  property  of  the  Lands  and  Baronies  which 
had  belonged  to  the  Canons  of  Jedburgh,  was  erected  into  a 
Temporal  Lordship,  and  granted  to  him,  with  the  Title  of  Lord 
Jedburgh.  [Vide  Origines  Parochiales,  Morton's  Annals  of  Teviot- 
dale,  and  Jeffrey's  History  and  Antiquities  of  Roxburghshire.] 

The  Abbey  Church  of  Jedburgh,  in  which  the  Services  were 
conducted  by  one  of  the  Monks  as  Chaplain,  was  the  Church  of 
the  Parish  before  the  Reformation.  The  Western  half  of  the 
Nave,  fitted  up  in  "  Modern  Style,"  is  still  used  for  modern 


ABBEY  OF  JEDBUKGH.  255 

purposes.  The  Abbey,  placed  on  a  bank  overhanging  the  little 
River  Jed,  and  in  the  midst  of  its  beautiful  valley,  is  still  seen 
in  its  original  length.  The  Central  Tower  still  stands,  100  feet 
high,  and  30  feet  square,  with  Angular  Pinnacles ;  where  the 
Transept  Roofs  were  low,  two  Pointed  Arches  occur.  On  the 
summit  is  a  double  Bell-cot.  The  view  from  the  top  of  the 
Tower  is  charming.  It  is  ascended  by  a  very  narrow  Stair  in 
the  South-East  corner  of  the  Church,  communicating  with  every 
part  of  it  by  deep  Passages  in  the  Wall,  so  that  one  might  go 
round  the  whole  Building  unseen  by  those  underneath.  The 
Tower  is  lighted  by  17  Windows.  The  North  Transept,  which  has 
a  beautiful  Traceried  Window,  is  entire,  and  has  long  been  set 
apart  as  a  Burial-place  for  the  Family  of  the  Marquis  of  Lothian, 
the  descendant  and  representative  of  the  Kers  of  Ferniherst. 
The  South  Transept  has  disappeared.  But  the  chief  object 
of  Architectural  interest  in  this  Abbey  is  the  Norman  Door, 
which  formed  the  Southern  entrance  to  the  Church  from  the 
Cloisters.  This,  for  the  elegance  of  its  workmanship  and  the 
symmetry  of  its  proportions,  is  unrivalled.  Its  Sculptured 
Mouldings,  springing  from  slender  shafts,  with  Capitals  richly 
wreathed,  exhibit  the  representations  of  flowers,  men,  and 
various  animals,  executed  with  surprising  minuteness  and  deli- 
cacy. The  Chapter  House,  Cloisters,  and  East  end  of  the 
Choir,  at  the  High  Altar,  are  completely  gone.  There  are  three 
or  four  different  kinds  of  Architecture  in  the  Abbey,  each 
characteristic  of  the  different  Periods  when  it  was  built.  The 
Minster,  for  the  most  part  Norman,  extends,  from  East  to  West, 
230  feet.  The  Presbytery,  31  feet  by  7  feet,  is  Early  English. 

The  Domestic  Buildings  have  occupied  the  South  side  of  the 
Church,  and,  when  entire,  formed  a  large  Square,  extending  to 
the  water's  edge,  where  part  of  the  Buildings  yet  remain,  and 
from  which  issues  the  Common  Sewer  of  the  Offices.  Part  of 
the  Chapter  House  is  still  standing,  but  has  been  converted  into 
modern  habitations.  Between  this  part  now  standing  and  the 
broken  Transept,  was  the  Treasury  of  the  Monks.  On  the  South 
of  the  Chapter  House,  nearer  to  the  water,  and  where  there  is 
now  a  Dye-house,  was  the  Library  and  Scriptorium  in  which  the 


256  MONASTICON. 

old  Monks  were  engaged  in  copying  MSS.  About  middle  way 
between  the  present  Dye-house  and  the  Garden  of  the  Nest 
Academy,  stood  the  Kefectory,  where  the  Monks  dined.  To  the 
West  of  this  was  the  Parlour  or  Common  Hall,  where,  at  leisure 
hours,  the  Monks  sat  and  conversed.  Next  to  this,  and  occupy- 
ing part  of  the  Garden  to  the  West  of  the  Manse  Garden,  were 
the  Kitchens,  Offices,  Dairy,  &c.  At  the  West  side  of  the  S'quare 
was  the  Dormitory  in  which  the  Monks  slept ;  and,  farther  West, 
the  outer  Court,  consisting  of  the  Infirmary  and  Almonry.  The 
Entrance  to  this  Court  was  by  an  embattled  Gate-house,  and 
was  the  principal  Approach  to  the  Abbey.  It  now  goes  by  the 
name  of  Abbey  Close.  At  the  head  of  this  Close  formerly  stood  a 
strong  Tower,  popularly  called  David's  Tower ;  but  it  is  highly 
probable  that  it  was  the  embattled  House  which  guarded  the 
Approach  to  the  Abbey.  The  large  Square  of  the  Cloisters,  in 
which  the  Monks  often  sat  or  walked,  is  converted  into  a  Garden 
for  the  Parish  Minister. 

As  far  as  recorded  in  different  Documents,  the  following  (as 
complete  as  can  be  made  up,  but,  doubtless,  a  good  many  names 
are  lost  in  oblivion)  are  the 

ABBOTS    OF   JEDBURGH. 

1.  DANIEL  appears  first  on  record,  who  is  styled  "Prior  de  Geddwrda" 
in  a  Charter  by  King  David  to  the  Monastery  of  Coldingham,  Dated  16th 
August,  1139.    [Coldingham  Charters  in  Raines  North  Durham,  Nos.  19,  20.] 

2.  OSBERT,  "  Prior  de  Gedworda,"  occurs  frequently  as  a  Witness  to 
Charters  by  King  David,  his  son  Earl  Henry,  and  Robert,  Bishop  of  St. 
Andrews,  to  Coldingham,  Kelso,  and  other  Eeligious  Communities.    Demp- 
ster says  that  he  was  a  man  of  singular  integrity  and  unaffected  piety,  and 
that  he  wrote  a  Treatise,  addressed  to  the  King,  about  the  founding  of  the 
Monastery,  its  Rules,  and  the  Records  of  the  Acts  of  the  Chapter.     He 
styled  himself  Prior  from  1147  till  1150 ;   but  is  called  "  Abbot  of  Gedd- 
worth"  in  Charters  by  Malcolm  IV.    He  was  the  first  Abbot  proper.    Osbert 
Died  in   1174,    according  to    the   Mel  rose   Chronicle,   where   he   is   styled 
"Primus  Abbas  de  Jedwood." 

3.  RICHARD,  the  Cellarer  of  the  Abbe}7,  who  presided  till  his  Death  in 
1205,  had  the  reputation  of  a  "Seer";  but  no  particular  Account  of  his 
frequent  Revelations  has  been  preserved.     "Whatever  may  have  given  rise  to 
this   doubtful    celebrity,   he   appears   to   have   possessed    qualities   which 
endeared  him  to  the  Monastic  Brethren. 


ABBEY  OF  JEDBUEGH.  257 

4.  HUGH,  Prior  of  Eestennet,  which  was  a  Cell  or  dependent  Priory, 
used  as  a  place  of  custody  for  the  Eecords  of  Jedburgh  Abbey  against  the 
depredations  of  the  Border  marauders. 

5.  KENNOCH.     Dempster,  in  his  Eccles.  History  of  Scotland,  speaks  of 
one  of  this  name  as  Abbot  of  Jedburgh,  who,  by  virtue  of  his  unceasing 
Prayers,  prevailed  upon  the  Kings  of  Scotland  and  England  to  maintain 
peace,  when  their  minds  were  strongly  inclined  to  war,  for  10  years.     We 
are  not  informed  what  time  this  Abbot  lived,  but  his  Festival  was  kept 
yearly  on  the  14th  November.   He  is  said  to  have  been  Abbot  in  1000.    The 
traditional  History  respecting  him,  and  the  apparently  high  antiquity  of  the 
Eemains  of  the  Choir,  would  seem  to  dictate  that  the  Abbey  had  a  very 
early  existence;  but  the  Melrose  Chronicle  states  Osbert,   "primus  Abbas," 
"  Obiit  1174."     Morton  makes  Kennoch  to  come  in  here,  like  S.  Paul,  "  as 
one  born  out  of  due  time,"  and  so  shall  I  admit  him  as  No.  5,  not  as  No.  3. 

6.  HUGH.  We  are  informed  that  he  Eesigned  his  Charge  in  1239,  on 
account  of  his  age  and  infirmities. 

7.  PHILIP,  a  Canon,  who  Euled  the  Abbey  10  years.     He  Died  in  1249. 

8.  EGBERT  DE  GYSEBORN,  another  of  the  Canons,  and  one  whose  very 
appearance  inspired  devotion,  succeeded,  but  Died  same  year. 

9.  NICHOLAS  was  also  chosen  from  among  his  Brother  Canons,  and 
Presided  over  them  until  1275,  when,  disabled  by  old  age,  he  retired  from 
the  Pastoral  Office,  bearing  the  character  of  a  man  of  wisdom  and  prudence. 

10.  JOHN  MOREL,  a  Canon,  was  raised  to  the  Abbot's 
place  upon  the  Eesignation  of  his  Predecessor.     Very  dis- 
turbed warlike  times  now  set  in ;  and  there  is  no  Eecord 
of   the   Affairs   of   the   Abbey  for   a    considerable    space. 
The  Harlequin  Spectre,  noticed  above,  occurred  in  Morel's 
time. 

11.  WILLIAM  may  have  been  the  immediate  Successor 
of  Morel.    He  Witnessed  a  Charter  to  Melrose  Abbey  along 

Device    of    a  with  William,  Abbot  of  Kelso,  who  did  not  attain  to  that 

Horse,    with    a  Office  till  after  1314.     He  Died  in  1328. 
Gauntlet  above.  ^  ROBERT  appears  to  have  been  the  next  Abbot.    His 

A.D.  1292.  [Chap-  name  ig  found  ag  a  Witness  in  the  Chartulary  of  Arbroath, 

IninfterT  in  the  year8  1322'  1325'  and  ln  the  Chartulary  of  Kelso  m 

13.  JOHN  about  1338  Witnesses  a  Grant  to  the  Abbey  of  Dryburgh.    In 
1343,  he  Witnessed  a  Confirmatory  Charter  of  King  Eobert  Bruce  to  the 
Abbey  of  Kelso ;  and,  in  1354,  his  name  occurs  among  the  Witnesses  of  a 
similar  Deed  of  King  Edward  III.  to  the  Church  of  S.  James  at  Eoxburgh. 
In  1376,  the  affairs  of  the  Convent  seem  to  have  been  prosperous,  as  they 
were  able  to  export  Wool,  the  produce  of  their  Estates. 

14.  WALTER  was  concerned  in  an  Agreement,  Dated  16th  November, 
1444,  with  the  Abbots  of  Kelso,  Melrose,  and  Dryburgh,  respecting  the 
Corn  Tithes  of  the  Parish  of  Lessudden. 

VOL.  i.  2  K 


258 


MONASTICON. 


15.  EGBERT,  with  the  Abbot  of  Kelso  and  others,  Commissioned  by 
James  III.,  holds  a  Meeting  at  Alnwick  on  the  28th  September,  1473,  for 
the  redress  of  grievances,  and  settling  conditions  of  peace. 

16.  JOHN  HALL  was  appointed  Abbot  in  1478,  on  the  Presentation  of 
the  King.     His  name  can  be  distinctly  traced  on  the  "new  work"  of  the 
Abbey,  built  of  reddish  stone.     The  portions  of  the  Edifice  built   of  this 
colour  of  stone  had  evidently  been  the  work  of  Abbot  Hall,  who  filled  the 
Office  about  25  years. 

]  7.  THOMAS  was  one  of  the  Scotch  Commissioners  at  a  Meeting  for  a 

truce  and  redress  of  grievances  held  at  Coldstream  on  the  25th  March, 

1494.     Among  the  matters  of  complaint  exhibited 

by  the  Scots,  were  certain  trespasses  committed 

by  Englishmen  on  the  Lands  of  the  Priory  of 

Canonby,  a  Cell  of  Jedburgh  Abbey. 

18.  HENRY  is  Subscribed  to  Charters  Dated 

in  1507,  1508,  and  1511. 

19.  JOHN  HORNE  was 
one  of  the  Lords  who 
sat  in  the  Parliament 
held  at  Perth  in  Novem- 
ber, 1513.  He  was  a 
member  of  one  of  the 
most  powerful  Families 
at  that  time  in  Scotland, 
being  the  son  of  Alex- 
ander, second  Earl  of 

°    6'  ° 


the  third  Earl,  who  held  Be?owTsT Slneld 

the  Office  of  Great  Cham-  ly.  first  and  fourth,  a  Lion 

berlain  of  the  Kingdom,  rampant,  for  Home;  second 

20.  ANDREW  (in  com-  and  third,  three  Papingoes, 

SL^^ILj^'SS.  wendaw),  son  to  George,  for    Pepdie    of   Dunglas; 

Earl  of 

of 

at  the  time  of  the  "  Be- 
formation,"  and  was  alive  in  1578. 


VALUATION   OF   THE   ABBEY   OF   JEDBURGH. 

Money— £974  10s.     Wheat— 2  Chalders,  2  Bolls  ;  Bear— 23  Chalders ; 
Meal— 36  Chalders,  13  Bolls,  1  Firlot,  1  Peck.   Omitted  Kains  and  Customs. 


The  Cells  or  Priories  belonging  to  Jedburgh  were  Restennot 
and  Canonby. 


PEIOKY  OF  BESTENNOT.  259 

XXI.  KESTENNOT,  or  EOSTINOTH, 

In  Angus,  situated  a  mile  to  the  North  of  Forfar,  and  encom- 
passed with  a  Loch,  except  at  one  Passage,  where  it  had  a  Draw- 
Bridge.  Here  all  the  Papers  and  precious  things  belonging  to 
Jedburgh  were  carefully  kept.  Robert,  Prior  of  this  Place,  swore 
fealty  to  Edward  Langshanks  in  1296,  according  to  Prynne. 
[Spottiswoode.] 

It  appears  that  from  the  earliest  Date  down  to  about  the 
close  of  the  Fifteenth  Century,  the  spelling  of  the  name  of 
Rostinoth  was  much  the  same  as  that  adopted  throughout  the 
text.  After  the  latter  period  it  assumed  the  form  of  Eestennet  or 
Bestenneth,  which  probably  gave  rise  to  the  common  Fable  of  its 
having  been  made  a  Depository  of  Records  and  other  valuable 
Effects  during  the  Wars  of  the  Independence.  More  probably, 
however,  the  name  had  originated  from  the  physical  appearance 
of  the  District,  and,  perhaps,  has  some  such  meaning  as  "the 
Island  of  a  flat  or  level  Promontory" — at  least  the  Ruins  of  the 
Priory  occupy  a  small  Island,  which  had  been  surrounded  by 
water  in  old  times,  though  now  joined  to  the  land,  and  the  land, 
in  its  general  aspect,  is  of  a  comparatively  level  character.  The 
Loch  or  Lake  of  Rostinoth  was  drained  by  Mr.  Dempster,  of 
Dunnichen,  towards  the  close  of  the  last  Century,  for  the 
valuable  Marie  which  it  contained.  It  appears  to  have  been  one 
of  a  chain  of  Lochs  which  extended  from  near  Glamis  on  the 
West,  to  Red  Castle  on  the  East. 

It  is  said  that  when  S.  Boniface  came  to  Scotland  about  the 
beginning  of  the  Seventh  Century,  he  Founded  three  Churches 
in  Angus.  One  of  these  he  planted  at  Invergowrie,  on  the  banks 
of  the  Tay ;  another  at  Tealing,  near  Dundee ;  and  a  third  at 
Rostinoth,  near  Forfar ;  and  it  is  believed  to  have  been  upon  the 
site  of  the  old  Church  of  Rostinoth  that  the  Priory  was  after- 
wards erected.  It  was  situated  in  the  Diocese  of  St.  Andrews, 
Dedicated  to  S.  Peter,  and  occupied  by  Canons  of  the  Order  of  S. 
Augustine. 

Probably  the  earliest  existing  Charter  to  the  Priory  of  Rosti- 
noth is  one  by  King  David  I.,  by  which  he  gave  the  Rents  of 


260  MONASTICON. 

certain  Thanages,  Bondagia,  and  other  Koyal  Lands,  to  the 
Monks.  The  next  authentic  Notice  of  the  Priory  occurs  in  the 
time  of  Malcolm  "  the  Maiden,"  by  whom  it  was  made  a  Cell  of 
the  Abbey  of  Jedburgh,  down  to  which  period  it  was  an  indepen- 
dent Establishment.  The  Charter  of  this  Union  was  Granted  at 
Koxburgh  between  1159  and  1163,  being  Witnessed,  among 
others,  by  William  and  David,  brothers  of  King  Malcolm ;  by 
Nicholas,  the  Chamberlain;  and  by  Arnold,  Bishop  of  St. 
Andrews. 

It  appears  from  this  Charter  that  the  Possessions  and  Liberties 
Granted  to  the  Priory  were  ample.  Among  these  are  mentioned 
the  Churches  of  Crachnatharach,  Pethefrin,  Tealing,  Duninald, 
Dysart,  and  Egglispether,  with  their  Pertinents;  the  whole 
Teinds  of  the  King's  other  places  in  Angus,  including  those  in 
Money,  Wool,  Chickens,  Cheese,  and  Malt,  and  those  of  the  Mill 
and  Fish  Market  of  Forfar ;  also  10s  out  of  Kynaber,  the  whole 
Teinds  of  the  King's  Farms  or  Lordships  of  Salorch,  Montrose, 
and  Kossie ;  the  Free  Passage  of  Scottewater,  or  the  Firth  of 
Forth ;  a  Toft  in  each  of  the  Burghs  of  Perth,  Stirling,  Edin- 
burgh, and  Forfar ;  together  with  a  Toft  in  Salorch,  and  20s  for 
the  light  of  the  Church  of  Salorch  itself,  with  the  King's  Salt- 
Pits,  and  Mill  of  Montrose.  These  were  all  Granted  and  Con- 
firmed by  King  Malcolm,  along  with  the  Priory  of  Eostinoth,  to 
the  Abbey  of  S.  Mary  of  Jedburgh,  for  the  welfare  of  the  Souls 
of  the  King's  grandfather,  David  I. ;  of  his  father,  Prince  Henry; 
of  his  mother,  Ada,  daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Warren  and  Surrey ; 
and  of  his  three  sisters,  his  Antecessors,  and  Successors.  This 
Charter  was  afterwards  Confirmed  by  Bishop  Arnold,  of  St. 
Andrews. 

Sometime  between  1189  and  1199,  during  the  Chancellorship 
of  Hugh,  King  William  the  Lion  gave  to  the  same  House  the 
Lands  of  Ardnequere  (supposed  to  be  Cossans)  in  exchange  for 
those  of  Foffarty,  which,  with  Waters,  Woods,  and  Plains, 
Meadows  and  Pastures,  Muirs  and  Marshes,  were  to  be  held  in 
free  and  perpetual  alms  by  the  Prior  and  Canons.  Alexander 
III.  also  gave .  the  Tenth  of  the  Hay  grown  in  the  Meadows  of 
his  Forest  of  Plater,  near  Finhaven ;  and,  in  1292,  the  Priors 


PBIOKY  OF  KESTENNOT.  261 

craved   the   King  for  permission  to  make  a  Mill-Dam  in  the 
adjoining  Forest  of  "  la  Morleterre,"  or  Murthill. 

As  just  shown,  the  Priory  of  Kostinoth  was  given  by  King 
Malcolm  to  the  Abbey  of  Jedburgh ;  and,  in  1242,  the  Chapel  of 
Forfar,  which  was  dependent  upon,  and  subject  to,  the  Priory, 
was  also  given  to  Jedburgh  by  David,  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  in 
these  terms : — 

Be  it  known  to  you,  universally,  that  we  have  Granted  by  the  common 
consent  of  our  Chapter,  and  Confirmed  to  the  Abbot  and  Canons  of  Jed- 
worth,  the  Church  of  Kestinot,  with  the  Chapel  of  Forfar,  adjacent  to  the 
same,  and  with  all  Tithes,  Eevenues,  and  Liberties,  lawfully  belonging  to 
the  aforesaid  Church  and  Chapel;  and  that  that  Chapel,  notwithstanding 
any  Dedication  of  it,  or  of  the  Burying  Ground,  or  Churchyard  of  the 
Mother  Church  of  Eestinot,  belongs  to  it  by  Parochial  right,  and  that  it 
remains  for  ever  united  to  the  same  as  a  member. 

In  the  time  of  King  Robert  the  Bruce,  the  Writs  of  Rosti- 
noth  were  said  to  have  been  "  lost  and  carried  off  by  Wars  and 
other  accidental  causes,"  and  an  Inquest  was  appointed  to 
inquire  regarding  the  old  Rights  and  Privileges  of  the  House. 
That  Finding  contains  Notices  of  the  various  Lands  and  other 
Possessions  of  the  Priory  from  the  time  of  Alexander  III.,  and 
the  Revenues  were  pretty  considerable,  arising  from  Lands  and 
Patronages,  which  were  scattered  over  more  than  twenty  of 
the  Parishes  of  Angus.  Besides  the  Revenues  of  certain  Lands, 
the  Jurors  also  found  that  the  Canons  were  in  full  possession  of 
the  curious  Privilege  of  "uplifting  on  each  coming  of  the  King 
to  Forfar,  for  each  day  he  abides  there,  two  loaves  of  the  lord's 
bread,  four  loaves  of  the  second  bread,  and  six  loaves,  called 
hugmans ;  two  flagons  of  the  better  ale,  two  flagons  of  the  second 
ale,  and  two  pairs  of  messes  of  each  of  the  three  courses  from  the 
kitchen."  Shortly  after  the  Date  of  this  Inquest,  Bruce  gave  the 
Prior  and  Canons  license  to  cut  Wood  at  all  times  in  his  Forest 
of  Plater,  for  the  purpose  of  making  Waggons,  Carts,  Yokes, 
Halters,  and  the  like ;  and  in  Morton's  "  Monastic  Annals  of 
Teviotdale,"  it  is  stated  from  the  Harleian  MSS.  that  the  same 
King  gave  the  Canons  the  Teinds  of  the  King's  Horses  and 
Studs,  and  the  third  of  the  Hay  of  the  Forest  of  Plater. 


262  MONASTICON. 

In  1333,  Sir  Alexander  Lindsay,  afterwards  of  Glenesk,  also 
gave  an  Annuity  out  of  the  Barony  of  Duny  to  the  Priory ;  and, 
three  years  afterwards,  James,  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  made  over 
to  it  his  whole  Lands  of  Rescobie — the  Charter  of  which  is 
curious,  in  so  far  as  it  contains  a  special  reservation  of  the  place 
of  holding  Courts. 

On  10th  June,  1344,  David  II.  Confirmed  the  ancient  Grants 
of  Kings  David,  Malcolm,  and  Alexander,  of  the  second  Teinds 
of  the  SherhTdom  of  Forfar,  execept  the  Tenth  of  the  great 
Custom  of  Dundee,  called  "the  Mautoll";  and  for  the  special 
regard  which  he  had  to  the  Priory,  as  the  place  where  the  hones 
of  his  brother-german,  John,  were  Buried,  he  farther  Granted  to 
it  20  Merks  Sterling  from  the  great  Customs  of  Dundee.  This, 
probably,  was  the  latest  Grant  which  was  made  to  the  Priory,  if 
we  except  the  Confirmation  in  1360  of  a  previous  Gift  of  an 
annual  of  J64  out  of  the  Thanedom  of  Menmuir,  by  Andrew 
Dempster,  of  Careston,  and  William  and  John  Collace,  of  Balna- 
moon. 

The  Ruins  of  the  Priory  of  Rostinoth  are  still  of  considerable 
extent,  and  have  much  the  same  appearance  as  when  described 
by  Mr.  Ochterlony,  of  Guynd,  about  1682,  and  when  sketched 
by  Captain  Grose  in  1789.  George  Hawkins  Dempster,  Esq., 
of  Dunnichen,  repaired  the  Walls  of  the  Church  some  five  years 
ago ;  the  Steeple,  two  years  ago.  The  Repairs  were  effected  by 
"  Steeple  Jack,"  under  the  superintendence  of  the  Rev.  William 
G.  Shaw,  of  Forfar.  The  Spire  is  now  all  pointed  with  Portland 
Cement.  It  had  suffered  from  lightning.  The  greater  part  of 
the  Walls  of  the  Church,  or  the  Building  on  the  East  of  the 
Tower,  are  pretty  entire,  with  Remains  of  the  Corbel- Tabling 
and  Buttresses.  Although  the  South-East  and  West  Walls  of 
the  Cloisters  are  more  ruinous,  many  of  the  Corbels  which 
supported  the  Beams  of  the  Roof  are  still  to  be  seen ;  also  the 
Holes  or  Niches  in  which  the  Posts  were  inserted  which  divided 
the  Cells. 

This  part  appears  to  have  been  from  50  to  60  feet  square  ; 
and  the  Church  was  about  65  feet  long,  by  about  20  feet  broad, 
exclusive  of  the  Tower,  and  a  place  called  the  Vestry,  at  the 


PEIOEY  OF  RESTENNOT. 


263 


North-West  end  of  the  Church.  The  Tower,  including  an 
Octagonal  Spire,  is  about  70  feet  high,  and  the  Building  appears 
to  have  been  in  the  First-Pointed  Style  of  Architecture,  or  that 
which  prevailed  in  Scotland  during  the  Thirteenth  Century.  The 
Tower  appears  to  be  the  oldest  part,  having  a  plain  Saxon 
Doorway. 

The  Chapel  of  the 
Priory  is  the  most  inter- 
esting part  of  the  Kuins. 
Its  Buttresses  have  all 
been  removed,  no  doubt 
to  build  Dykes.  The 
Piscina,  the  Aumbry,  and 
the  Sedile,  are  still  in 
good  preservation.  The 
Basin  of  the  old  Font 
also  exists ;  and  it  was 
usual  in  the  last  Century 
for  "Episcopalians"  in 
the  District  to  carry  their 
children,  and  there  be 
Baptized  by  stealth. 

The  Area  of  the 
Church  has  long  been 
used  as  the  Burial  Place 
of  the  Hunters  of  Burn- 
side,  and  the  Dempsters 
of  Dunnichen.  At  one 
time  the  Enclosure  con- 
tained Tombstones  to  dif- 
ferent members  of  these  Families;  but  owing  to  the  wanton 
mischief  of  idlers,  they  have  altogether  disappeared,  having  been 
either  carried  off  or  destroyed. 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that  in  days  of  yore  some  ^  of  our 
most  powerful  Princes  and  Magnates  assembled  within  this 
Monastery  to  deliberate  over  matters  affecting  the  welfare  of  the 
Kingdom,  for  it  is  recorded  that  the  Priory  was  visited  both  by 


PRIORY  TOWER  OF  RESTEXNOT. 


264  MONASTICON. 

Kobert  the  Bruce  and  his  son,  David  II.  Here,  also,  doubtless 
lie  the  ashes  of  many  personages  who,  in  their  day,  had  been 
remarkable  for  piety,  learning,  and  other  of  the  ennobling 
qualities  of  human  nature,  regarding  whom  History  is  silent. 
Still,  both  Tradition  and  Kecord  affirm  that  there  were  at  least 
two  persons  of  note  Interred  here.  The  first  is  said  to  have  been 
Ferideth,  King  of  the  Picts,  who  fell  at  a  Battle  which  was  fought 
in  this  neighbourhood  between  him  and  Alpin,  King  of  the  Scots. 
According  to  Boe'ce,  Ferideth's  Army  was  defeated,  and  himself 
killed,  and  Alpin  commanded  the  body  of  his  opponent  to  be 
"  laid  in  Christian  buriall  not  farre  from  Forfaire." 

On  this  Passage  is  founded  the  not  improbable  conjecture  of 
Ferideth's  place  of  Burial  having  been  at  Rostinoth.  There  are, 
however,  as  before  shown,  much  better  grounds  for  believing  that 
at  a  later"  Date,  the  body  of  John,  a  son  of  King  Robert  the 
Bruce,  was  Buried  here.  This,  it  need  scarcely  be  added,  is  a 
peculiarly  interesting  point,  particularly  when  it  is  borne  in  mind 
that  the  fact  of  Bruce  having  had  two  sons,  has  hitherto  been 
overlooked  by  Historians ;  and,  so  far  as  known,  the  only  Record 
of  it  occurs  in  the  previously  noticed  Grant  of  Confirmation  by 
David  II.  to  Rostinoth,  Dated  at  Scone  on  the  10th  June,  1844. 

PRIORS    OF    RESTENNOT. 

1.  EGBERT,  Prior  of  Eostinoth,  was  a  Witness  to  a  Charter  by  which 
Robert,  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  Granted  to  the  Canons  of  that  Convent  the 
free  Election  of  their  Prior ;  and  on  the  Death  of  Isaac,  Abbot  of  Scone,  in 
1162,  Robert,  Prior  of  Rostinoth,  was  Elected  to  that  Office. 

2.  WILLIAM,  who  Witnessed  several  Grants  by  King  William  the  Lion 
and  others,  was  Prior  between  1178  and  1199. 

8.  HUGH,  Prior  of  Rostinoth,  is  said  to  have  become  Abbot  of  Jedburgh 
on  the  Death  of  Abbot  Ralph,  in  1205. 

4.  BERENGAR  held  the  Office  of  Prior,  and  was  present  at  a  Synod  at 
Perth,  in  the  Dispute  betwixt  William,  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  and  Duncan 
of  Aberbothenoth,  3rd  April,  1206,  regarding  the  Lands  of  the  Kirktown  of 
Arbuthnott. 

5.  GERMAN,  as  Prior  of  Rostinoth,  Witnessed  several  Grants  to  the 
Priory  of  St.  Andrews  by  William  Cumyn,  Earl  of  Buchan,  and  his  Countess 
Marjory,  sometime  before  1233 ;  and  in  1227,  probably  during  the  time  of 
this  Prior,  we  meet  with  the  only  trace  (so  far  as  is  known)  of  the  Seneschal, 
or  Steward  of  the  Convent.     He  is  described  as  "Dnvid,  Senescalle  de 


PKIOBY  OF  EESTENNOT.  265 

Kostynoth,"  and  was  a  Perambulator  of  the  Marches  of  the  Lands  in 
Dispute  between  the  Abbey  of  Arbroath  and  Kinblethmont. 

6.  WILLIAM  was  Prior  in  1264,  and  a  Witness  to  William  of  Brechin's 
Foundation  Charter  of  the  Hospital,  or  Maisondieu,  of  that  Town.  On  17th 
March,  1289,  the  Prior  of  "Kustinoth"  was  a  party  to  the  Letter  of  the 
Community  of  Scotland,  consenting  to  the  Marriage  of  Prince  Edward  of 
England  with  our  Queen  Margaret ;  and  "  Eobert,  Prior  de  Rostinnot,  et  les 
Chanoines"  of  the  Convent,  performed  homage  to  King  Edward  I.,  at 
Berwick-upon-Tweed,  in  August,  1296. 

7.  BERNARD,  Prior  of  Eostinoth,  Witnessed  the  Resignation  of  Lands  in 
the  Town  of  Aberdeen  by  Malcolm   of  Haddington,  to  the  Convent  of 
Arbroath,  in  1320. 

8.  J.,  Prior  of  Eostinoth,  is  a  Witness  to  Henry  of  Eossy's  Charter  of 
the  third  part  of  the  Lands  of  Inyeney  to  Walter  of  Schaklok,  23rd  Sept., 
1328;  and 

9.  JOHN  DE  ESKDALE  (probably  the  same  as  above)  was  Prior  in  1330-36. 

10.  ALEXANDER  appears  in  a  Deed  regarding  the  Titles  of  the  Thanages 
of  Monifieth  and  Menmuir,  27th  May,  1347. 

11.  "JAMES  OFF  KETHT,  Priour  of  Eostinoth,"  probably  a  Cadet  of  the 
powerful  Family  of  that  name  in  the  Mearns,  was  present  at  Forfar  on  10th 
January,  1410,  when  the  Duke  of  Albany  decided  in  favour  of  the  claims  of 
the  Bishop  of  Brechin,  to  half  the  Pasture  of  the  Muir  of  Farnell. 

12.  WILLIAM  LYNDESAY  is  described  as  lately  Prior  of  Eostinoth,  in  a 
Deed  of  12th  June,  1476,  regarding  this  Priory  and  the  Abbey  of  Jedburgh. 

13.  WILLIAM  EUTHERFORD  was  Prior,  24th  October,  1482,  and  Procu- 
rator in  a  case  before  the  Lords  of  Council  on  the  7th  March,  1490. 

Of  the  Priors  of  Eostinoth  we  have  no  farther  notice.  On 
1st  August,  1560,  Andrew,  probably  the  second  son  of  George, 
fourth  Lord  Home,  sat  in  Parliament  as  Commendator  of  Jed- 
burgh  and  Rostinoth;  and  on  19th  May,  1562,  Mariot,  relict  of 
Lord  Home,  and  mother  of  the  Commendator,  had  Charters  of 
the  Dominical  Lands  of  Rostinoth.  Her  only  daughter,  Margaret, 
who  married  Sir  Alexander  Erskine,  of  Gogar,  appears  to  have 
inherited  Rostinoth;  since,  on  24th  November,  1586,  she  and  her 
husband  had  a  Charter  of  Confirmation  of  the  "  House  and  En- 
closure of  Restenneth."  The  next  Notice  of  the  Property  occurs 
in  1606,  when  Sir  Thomas  Erskine,  afterwards  Earl  of  Kelly, 
eldest  surviving  son  of  Lady  Erskine  (in  consideration  of  certain 
good  services  which  he  had  done  to  the  King),  received  a  Grant 
from  James  VI.  of  "  the  haill  temporal!  landis  and  rentis  quhilkis 
pertenit  of  befoir  to  the  Priorie  of  Restenneth,  being  ane  cell  of 

VOL.  I.  2  L 


266  MONASTICON. 

the  abbacie  of  Jedburgh  .  .  .  with  the  richt  of  the  patronage  of 
the  kirkis  of  the  said  Priorie,  viz.,  the  kirks  of  Restenneth, 
Donynald,  and  Aberlemno,  erectit  into  ane  frie  baronie."  This 
Gift  included  "the  temporall  landis  and  rentis  pertening  to  the 
said  priorie,  with  the  place,  cloister,  zairdis,  orchardis,  and  haill 
boundis  within  the  precinct  of  the  samin." 

The  Earl  of  Kelly  does  not  appear  to  have  long  retained  the 
Barony  of  Rostinoth,  having  been  succeeded  in  it  by  George 
Fletcher,  one  of  the  Balinscho  Family,  somewhere  about  1624-5  ; 
and  from  his  Heirs  in  1652,  the  Patronage  of  the  Kirk  of 
Rostinoth-Forfar  (as  was  the  name  at  that  late  Date)  was 
purchased  by  the  Magistrates  and  Town  Council  of  Forfar.  On 
7th  September,  1658,  Robert  Fletcher,  of  Balinscho,  was  served 
Heir  to  his  father  in  the  Teinds  of  Rostinoth ;  and,  on  12th 
January,  1693,  William  Hunter  succeeded  his  father,  Thomas, 
in  the  Dominical  Lands  of  Rostinoth,  with  the  Fishings,  &c. 
The  Property  was  bought  soon  after  the  year  1700  by  George 
Dempster,  a  Merchant  and  Burgess  of  Dundee,  son  of  the  Rev. 
George  Dempster,  the  last  Episcopal  Minister  of  the  Parish  of 
Monifieth. 

Mr.  Andrew  Jervise,  Author  of  the  "Land  of  the  Lindsays," 
"  Memorials  of  Angus  and  Mearns,"  &c.,  has  obligingly  permitted 
me  to  draw  the  above  excellent  Details  from  his  latter  interesting 
Volume.  In  the  Appendix  thereto,  is  given  the  Rental  of  the 
Lands  belonging  to  this  Priory. 

VALUATION    OF    THE    PRIORY   OF   RESTENNOT. 

Money— £275  10s  Sd. 

XXII.  CANONBY, 

A  Priory  situated  upon  the  River  of  Esk,  in  Eskdale,  and 
Shire  of  Dumfries.  It  is  uncertain  by  whom,  or  at  what  time  it 
was  Founded  (?  1165),  though  we  are  pretty  sure  it  was  before 
the  year  1296 ;  for  then  William,  Prior  of  this  Convent,  swears 
fealty  to  Edward  I.,  King  of  England.  This  Monastery  was 
frequently  overturned  and  burnt  by  the  English,  and  the  Prior 
and  Canons  thereof  obliged  to  abandon  their  Dwelling  during  the 


PKIOKY  OF  CANONBY.  267 

heat  of  the  Wars;  by  which  means,  their  Records  being  so 
often  destroyed  and  lost,  I  can  give  no  further  Account  of  it. 
[Spottiswoode.] 

There  are  several  opinions  with  regard  to  the  derivation  of 
the  name  Canonby.  One  traces  it  to  the  Saxon  word  Bie  or  By, 
signifying  a ." habitation"  or  " station,"  making  the  term  thus 
denote  the  Residence  of  the  Canons ;  another  derives  the  name 
from  the  Latin  vroTd-Ccenobium,  which  signifies  a  "  Priory"  or 
"  Monastery;"  a  third  makes  it  out  from  the  Greek  KO/VO?, 
''common,"  B/<K,  "life,"  because  the  Monks  lived  in  common. 

The  Religious  House  of  Lidel,  Parish  of  Castletown,  recorded 
in  the  great  Charter  of  Jedburgh  Abbey  as  the  gift  of  Turgot  of 
Rossedale,  was  identical  with  the  Church  of  Lidel,  mentioned 
both  in  that  Charter  and  in  the  Chartulary  of  Glasgow,  and  was 
afterwards  known  as  the  Priory  of  Cannabie,  of  which  Castle- 
town  was  a  Dependency.  The  Church  of  Castletown,  so  named 
from  a  Castle  (probably  that  of  Liddel)  near  which  it  stood,  was 
originally  known  as  the  Church  of  S.  Martin  of  the  Valley  of 
Liddel.  [Orig.  Paroch.] 

Turgot  de  Rossedal  occupied  the  District  on  the  Lower  Esk. 
He  placed  the  Monastery  on  the  Peninsula  which  is  formed  by 
the  junction  of  the  Rivers  Liddel  and  Esk,  and  he  Granted  to  it 
the  adjoining  Lands,  with  the  Church  of  Kirkandrews  and  its 
Pertinents.  It  obtained  also  some  Lands,  and  a  Fishing  on  the 
Liddel,  from  Guido  de  Rossedal,  who  was  probably  the  brother 
of  the  Founder.  This  Canonry,  with  its  Possessions,  were  soon 
after  Granted  by  Turgot  de  Rossedal  to  the  Monks  of  Jedburgh, 
who  thenceforth  held  it  as  a  Cell  of  their  Monastery.  This 
Grant  of  the  Founder  was  Confirmed  by  William  the  Lion,  soon 
after  his  Accession,  in  1165.  When  Turgot  transferred  his 
Canonry  to  the  Monks  of  Jedburgh,  he  called  it  "  Domus  de 
Religiosis  de  Liddal"  from  its  location  on  the  bank  of  this 
mountain  torrent.  It  soon  obtained  the  name  of  Canonby  (the 
Canons'  Residence),  and  it  communicated  this  appropriate  name 
to  the  Parish  Church. 

In  Bagimont's  Roll,  the  Prior  of  Canonby  sat  in  the  great 
Parliament  at  Brigham,  in  March,  1290.  [Rymer.]  William  the 


268  MONASTICON. 

Prior  and  his  Canons  swore  fealty  to  Edward  L,  at  Berwick,  in 
August,  1296.  [Prynne,  vol.  Hi.,  p.  653.]  In  1341,  the  Prior 
and  Canons  procured  from  Edward  III.,  a  Writ  of  Protection  for 
themselves  and  their  Possessions — [Rotuli  Scotice,  vol.  i.,  p.  615] 
— yet  were  they  often  ruined  by  the  Border  Wars.  The  Kings 
of  England  at  length  claimed  them  as  their  own,  from  ancient 
protection.  The  unscrupulous  Henry  VIII.  claimed  this  Priory 
in  1533,  as  having  belonged  to  the  English  of  old.  [Border 
Hist.,  p.  533.  From  the  transactions  of  1296,  we  may  see  how 
old  there  could  be  any  pretence  of  claim.]  Both  the  Convent 
and  the  Church  of  Canonby  were  destroyed  by  the  English  after 
the  Battle  of  Solway  Moss,  in  1542.  The  Priory  of  Canonby 
and  the  Abbey  of  Jedburgh,  of  which  it  was  a  Cell,  were  both 
separated  from  the  Crown,  to  which  they  had  been  annexed  by 
the  Act  of  1587,  and  granted  to  Alexander,  Earl  of  Home,  in 
1606.  He  acquired  a  Charter  for  them  under  the  Great  Seal, 
20th  March,  1610,  and  the  whole  was  ratified  in  Parliament, 
4th  August,  1621,  granting  anew  the  same  to  James,  Earl  of 
Home.  The  Earl  of  Home  obtained,  as  Pertinents  of  the  Priory, 
the  Patronage,  Tithes,  and  Lands  of  the  Churches  of  Canonby 
and  Wauchope.  The  Priory  of  Canonby,  with  its  Property, 
afterwards  passed  from  the  Earl  of  Home  to  the  Duke  of  Buc- 
cleuch,  in  the  Eeign  of  Charles  I. 

Some  Vestiges  of  the  Convent  are  still  to  be  traced  at  Hal- 
green,  about  half  a  mile  East  of  the  Village  of  Canonby.  The 
ancient  Church  of  Canonby  was  dedicated  to  S.  Martin.  In  the 
Churchyard  a  Chrismatory  was  dug  up  some  years  ago — a  piece 
of  grotesque  sculpture.  [Chalmers'  Caledonia,  vol.  Hi.,  p.  152.] 

VALUATION  OF  THE  PRIORY  OF  CANONBY. 

Money— £20  13s  4rf. 

XXIII.  INCHAFFBAY,     A.D.  1200, 

In  Strathern,  a  Subdivision  in  the  Shire  of  Perth,  was  an 
Abbey  founded  by  Gilbert,  Earl  of  Strathern,  in  this  year,  the 
Canons  whereof  were  brought  from  Scone.  It  was  dedicated 
to  the  memory  of  S.  John  the  Evangelist.  Frere  Thomas  was 


ABBEY  OF  INCHAFFKAY. 


269 


Abbot  of  Inchaffray  in  the  year  1296 ;  and  Mauritius,  Abbot  of 
this  place,  was  present  with  King  Eobert  the  Bruce  at  Bannock- 
burn,  to  which  he  brought,  as  is  reported,  the  Arm  of  S.  Fillan 
— whereof  Boethius,  lib.  xiv.,  p.  314,  and  Leslij,  lib.  vii.,  p.  232. 
James  Drummond,  son  to  David,  Lord  Drummond,  having 
acquired  a  right  to  this  Monastery  from  Alexander  Gordon, 
Bishop  of  Galloway,  then  Commendator  thereof,  it  was  by  the 
favour  of  King  James  VI.,  in  the  year  1607,  erected  to  him 
in  a  Temporal  Lordship,  by  the  style  of  Lord  Maderty. 
[Spottiswoode.] 

A  few  ruined  Gables,  masses  of  fallen  Wall,  a  Stone  Coffin, 
and  an  Arched  Chamber,  are  all  that  remains  of  the  Abbey  of 
Inchaffray.  It  is  enclosed 
with  a  low  Stone  Fence, 
in  the  Eastern  Division  of 
which  there  are  two  rudely 
Carved  Stones,  belonging 
to  a  comparatively  recent 
period  of  its  History.  The 
Date,  1608,  is  still  dis- 
cernible on  one  of  them ; 
but  some  person,  anxious 
to  afford  unmistakeable 
evidence  of  the  antiquity 
of  the  Abbey,  has  en- 
deavoured to  efface  the 
upper  stroke  of  the  6  in 
1608,  wishing  to  make  it 
1008.  The  Ruins  are 
surrounded  on  three  sides 
by  a  corn  field — the  Road 
to  Auchterarder  passing  them  on  the  East. 

InchafFray  was  Dedicated  to  the  honour  of  God,  the  Virgin 
Mary,  and  S.  John  the  Evangelist.  In  Charters  it  is  designated 
Insula  Missarum,  the  "Island  of  Masses,"  that  being  the 
signification  of  the  Gaelic  name  Inchaffray.  It  is  supposed 
that  anciently  it  must  have  been  an  Island,  and  that  the  Waters 


An.  Eagle,  emblematic  of  S.  John,  with  its  feet 
on  the  Legend,  In  Pncipio  erat  verbu,  "  In  the 
beginning  was  the  Word."  Circumscription — 
S'  Comune  Ecce  Sci  JohTs  Evangeliste  De  In- 
sula Missarum. 


270  MONASTICON. 

of  the  Pow,  now  reduced  to  a  broad,  deep  Drain,  had  at  one 
time  formed  a  Lake  in  this  District- of  Stratherne. 

It  is  conjectured,  on  the  authority  of  Fordun,  that  the  same 
Earl  Gilbert  who  built  and  endowed  the  Abbey  of  Inchaffray, 
Founded  also  the  See  of  Dunblane.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the 
Family  of  Stratherne,  of  whom  Earl  Gilbert  was  the  progenitor, 
"were  the  only  Scotch  subjects  who  could  claim  the  distinction 
of  having  Founded  a  Bishopric,  and  inheriting  its  Patronage, 
unless  we  except  the  great  Lords  of  Galloway,  who  -appear  to 
have  renewed  the  Foundation  of  the  See  of  S.  Ninian." 

The  first  Charter  by  Earl  Gilbert  in  favour  of  the  Abbey  is 
Witnessed  by  the  Countess  Matilda,  his  wife,  and  his  six  sons, 
the  last  named  being  Gilchrist,  who  Died  in  1198.  Before  this, 
the  Earl  had  Founded  the  House  of  Inchaffray ;  but  then,  the 
parents  having  chosen  it  as  the  Place  of  Burial  of  their  son,  they 
recorded  their  sorrow  in  an  extended  Foundation  and  Endow- 
ment of  their  Monastery.  Malis,  the  Hermit,  in  whose  piety 
and  discretion  the  Founders  had  all  confidence,  was  to  be  the 
Head,  and  to  have  the  selection.  The  Earl  and  Countess 
declared  their  affection  for  the  Place — "  So  much  do  we  love  it, 
that  we  have  chosen  a  Place  of  Sepulture  in  it  for  us  and  our 
Successors,  and  have  already  Buried  there  our  eldest  born." 

By  its  Great  Charter,  A.D.  1200,  this  Abbey  was  endowed 
with  the  Churches  of  S.  Kattanus  of  Abruthven,  of  S.  Ethir- 
nanus  of  Madderty,  of  S.  Patrick  of  Strogeth,  of  S.  Mechesseok 
of  Auchterarder,  of  S.  Beanus  of  Kinkell;  with  the  Tithe  of 
the  Earl's  Cain  and  Eents  of  Wheat,  Meal,  Malt,  Cheese,  and 
all  Provisions  used  throughout  the  year  in  his  Court;  with 
Tithe  of  all  Fish  brought  into  his  Kitchen,  and  of  the  produce 
of  his  Hunting ;  and  the  Tithe  of  all  the  Profits  of  his  Courts 
of  Justice,  and  all  Offerings.  The  Convent  had  the  liberty 
of  Fishing  in  the  Peffer,  and  of  Fishing  and  Birding  over  all 
the  Earl's  Lands,  Waters,  and  Lakes.  They  might  take  Timber 
for  Building  and  other  uses  from  his  Woods,  and  have  their 
Pannage  or  Mast-Feeding  for  Pigs,  as  well  as  Bark  and  Fire- 
wood, in  whatever  places  and  as  much  as  they  chose.  Some 
years  later,  Earl  Gilbert  granted  to  the  Canons,  now  seated 


ABBEY  OF  INCHAFFRAY. 


271 


at  Inchaffray,  the  Church  of  S.  Beanus  of  Foullis,  with  the 
"Dower"  Land  of  the  Church,  and  the  common  Pasturage  of 
the  Parish,  and  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Trinity  of  Gask,  with 
the  same  privileges. 

In  his  old  age,  Earl  Gilbert  took  a  second  wife,  Ysenda,  the 
daughter  of  a  Knightly  Family  of  the  surname  of  Gask.  A 
Chronicle,  which  seems  to  have  been  written  in  the  Diocese,  or 
to  be  in  some  other  way  peculiarly  connected  with  Dunblane, 
records  Earl  Gilbert's  death — "  Gilbertus  fundator  canonicorum 
Insule  Missarum  et  episcopatus  Dunblanensis,  obiit  A. P.  1223." 
Earl  Gilbert  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  son  Ko- 
bert,  who  was  also  the 
good  Patron  of  the 
Canons  of  Inchaffray. 
One  of  his  Charters, 
indeed,  savours  of  some 
estrangement  and  recon- 
ciliation— Earl  Kobert, 
in  the  Church  of  Stro- 
geth,  in  the  presence  of 
Abraham,  Bishop  of 
Dunblane,  Gilbert  the 
Archdeacon,  and  other 
notable  Witnesses,  binds  , 

,.                                  '  Counter  Seal—S.  John  standing  m  the  Door  of  a 

towards    InilO-  Church,  holding  in  his  right  hand  a  Palm  Branch, 

Cent,     the    Abbot,     that  and  in  his  left   a  Book.     Same   Circumscription. 

he  Will  never  in  all   his  Watri*> in  ^Possession  of  C.  K.  Skarpe.} 

life  vex  the  said  Abbot,  or  his  Convent,  unjustly ;  nay,  will  love 
and  every  where  honour  them  as  his  most  special  friends,  and 
will  add  to  the  Possessions  of  their  House  whatever  he  may,  by 
the  counsel  of  his  friends.  In  particular,  he  Confirms  to  them 
the  Churches  of  Gask  and  Strogeth. 

As  early  as  1218,  the  Canons  of  Inchaffray  had  reclaimed 
a  portion  of  the  vast  Marsh  in  which  their  "Isle  of  Masses" 
stood.  Nearly  500  years  afterwards,  the  "  Heritors  upon  the 
Pow  of  Inchaffray"  applied  to  Parliament  to  appoint  Commis- 


272  MONASTICON. 

sioners  for  draining  the  whole  Marsh  for  common  benefit.  The 
Act  which  followed  upon  their  Petition,  dated  9th  October,  1696, 
given  in  the  Appendix  to  the  Eegistrum  de  Inchaffery,  is  curious, 
as  perhaps  the  single  instance  of  a  great  Agricultural  improve- 
ment effected  under  the  authority  of  the  Scotch  Parliament. 

The  Abbey  of  Inchanray,  though  respectably  endowed,  does 
not  seem  to  have  ranked  among  the  greater  Monasteries  of 
Scotland.  The  Abbots,  though  Prelates  of  Parliament,  occur 
rarely  in  public  affairs,  or  in  the  transactions  which  so  frequently 
brought  together  Churchmen  of  various  Eeligious  Houses.  We 
have  thus  only  a  very  few  names  of  the  successive  Abbots 
preserved. 

ABBOTS    OP   INCHAFFKAY. 

1.  MALIS,  a  Eeligious  Hermit,  was  the  person  to  whom  Earl  Gilbert 
committed  the  selection  of  the  Convent  at  its  first  Foundation  in  1200,  and 
he  was  the  first  Head  of  the  House. 

2.  INNOCENTIUS  appears  to  have  been  Head  of  the  House  as  Prior,  and 
was  perhaps  the  first  who  took  the  style  of  Abbot,  in  the  time  of  Earl  Eobert, 
between  1223  and  1231. 

3.  ALANUS  occurs  as  Abbot  of  Inchaffray,  from  1258  till  1271. 

4.  HUGH,  who  had  been  Prior,  was  afterwards  Abbot  in  1282-4. 

5.  FRERE  THOMAS  was  Abbot  in  1296.      [Spottiswoode,] 

6.  MAURITIUS  or  MAURICE  was  the  Abbot  of  Inchaffray  who  blessed  the 
Army  of  Bruce  at  Bannockburn  (June  24,  1314),  to  which  he  is  said  to  have 
brought  the  Arm  of  S.  Fillan.     He  was  promoted  to  the  See  of  his  own 
Diocese  of  Dunblane  in  1319.     Early  in  his  Episcopate,  a  dispute  concern- 
ing the  Tithes  of  Coruton  and  Atheray,  between  him  and  the  Abbot  of 
Dunfermline,  was  submitted  to  the  decision  of  Arbiters,  one  of  whom  was 

7.  'CHRISTINUS,  Abbot  of  Inchaffray. 

8.  WILLIAM  was  Abbot  on  the  17th  July,  1370.    He  must  have  held  the 
Abbey  for  a  long  period,  or  had  a  Successor  of  the  same  Christian  name. 

9.  WILLIAM  FRANKLYN,  Abbot,  John  the  Prior,  and  the  whole  Convent 
of  the  Monastery  of  Inchaffray,  in  1398,  on  the  Festival  of  S.  Matthias,  are 
Witnesses  to  a  Deed  of  Jonet  de  Murreffe,  spouse  of  Alexander  de  Murreffe, 
of  Abercairney,  Knight. 

10.  GEORGE,  Abbot  of  Inchaffray,  on  the  25th  January,  1468,  obliged 
himself  to  make  Lawrence,  Lord  Oliphant,  his  Bailie  for  life  of  the  Lands 
of  the  Abbacy,  within  20  days  after  he  should  be  admitted  to  the  Spirituality 
by  the  Ordinary,  and  by  the  King  to  the  Temporality  of  the  said  Abbacy. 
The  Office  of  Bailie  of  the  Abbey  Lands  is  said  to  have  been  in  the  Family 
of  Oliphant  during  the  Reigns  of  James  V.,  Queen  Mary,  and  James  VI. 


ABBEY  OF  INCHAFFBAY.  273 

11.  GAVIN  DUNBAE,  Archbishop  of  Glasgow,  had,  in  1539,  the  Abbacy 
of  Inchaffray  in  commendam.  He  Granted  to  Anthony  Murray  a  Tack  of  the 
Four  Merk-Lands  of  the  Eaith,  "  for  furnishing  of  our  Bulls" — probably  for 
the  expense  of  his  Confirmation  in  the  Abbacy — on  the  19th  May,  1539. 
Before  the  Tack  had  run  to  an  end,  the  Tenure  was  made  perpetual  by  a 
Feu- Charter  of  the  same  Lands  of  Eaith,  and  of  the  Moor  of  Madderty, 
granted  by 

ALEXANDEE,  styled  "  Archbishop  of  Athens,"  Postulate  of  the  Isles, 
and  Perpetual  Commendator  of  the  Monastery  of  Inchaffray,  Dated  at 
Inchaffray  the  24th  December,  1554.  This  Commendator  was  Alexander 
Gordon,  brother  of  George,  fourth  Earl  of  Huntly,  who  was  defeated  in  his 
hopes  of  the  Archbishopric  of  Glasgow,  on  the  Death  of  Archbishop  Dunbar, 
and  imperfectly  consoled  by  the  high-sounding  Title  of  "  Archbishop  of 
Athens,  in  partibus  infidelium" — the  poor  See  of  the  Isles  to  which  he  was 
provided  on  the  26th  November,  1553,  with  the  Abbacy  of  Inchaffray  in 
commendam.  Next  year,  he  was  made  Commendator  also  of  the  Abbacy  of 
Icolmkill.  In  1558,  he  was  Translated  from  the  Bishopric  of  the  Isles  to  the 
Diocese  of  Galloway.  He  was  still  styled  Postulate  of  the  Isles  in  1561,  and 
continued  to  hold  his  Abbacy  till  1564. 

In  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Kirk,  convened  at  Edinburgh  the 
25th  December,  1567,  ALEXANDEE,  called  "Bishop  of  Galloway,"  Com- 
missioner, was  accused  "that  he  had  not  visited  these  three  years  bygone 
the  Kirks  within  his  Charge  ;  that  he  had  left  off  the  visiting  and  planting 
of  Kirks,  and  he  haunted  Court  too  much,  and  had  now  purchased  to  be  one 
of  the  Session  and  Privy  Council,  which  cannot  agree  with  the  Office  of  a 
Pastor  or  Bishop  ;  that  he  had  resigned  Inchaffray  in  favour  of  a  young 
child,  and  set  divers  Lands  in  Feu,  in  prejudice  of  the  Kirk."  The  Bishop 
of  Galloway  "  granted  that  he  offended  in  all  that  was  laid  to  his  charge." 
The  youth  in  whose  favour  he  had  resigned  the  Abbacy  of  Inchaffray,  was 
James  Drummond  of  Inverpeffray,  the  second  son  of  David,  second  Lord 
Drummond,  who  was  Commendator  of  Inchaffray  on  the  13th  March,  1556, 
when  David,  Lord  Drummond,  acted  with  him  as  his  Coadjutor.  The 
Abbacy  of  Inchaffray  was  erected  into  a  Temporal  Lordship  in  his  favour, 
and  he  was  created  Lord  Maderty  in  1609.  From  him  is  descended  the 
Noble  Family  of  Strathallan. 

The  ancient  Register  of  the  Abbey  of  Inchaffray  has  been  for 
some  time  preserved  in  the  Library  at  Duplin  Castle.  The 
Bannatyne  Club  owed  to  the  Earl  of  Kinnoul  the  use  of  the 
Original  Register,  which  enabled  the  Transcript  presented  to  the 
Club  by  the  late  Henry  Drummond,  M.P.,  to  be  collated.  The 
Register  is  an  8vo  Volume  of  51  leaves  of  Vellum,  in  a  hand  of 
the  Fifteenth  Century.  Eighty-four  Charters  have  been  Printed 

VOL.  I.  2  M 


274  .        MONASTICON. 

in  the  Liber  Insule  Missarum,  together  with  a  Rental  of  the 
Abhey,  1563;  a  Taxt  Roll  of  the  Lordschip,  1630;  and  47 
"  Cartae  Kecentiores."  The  Details  incorporated  here  have 
been  carefully  collected  from  the  above,  with  permission. 

VALUATION  OF  THE  ABBEY  OF  INCHAFFBAY. 

Money— £666  13s  4d.    [Keith.] 

The  Cells  or  Priories  belonging  to  Inchaffray  were  Strath- 
fillan,  Scarinche,  and  Abernethy. 

XXIV.  STBATHFILLAN, 

Situate  on  the  Water  of  Dochart,  in  Breadalbane,  a  Sub- 
division of  the  Shire  of  Perth,  was  a  Priory  Founded  by  King 
Robert  the  Bruce,  and  Consecrated  to  S.  Fillan,  in  consideration 
of  the  assistance  he  had  from  that  Saint  at  the  Battle  of 
Bannockburn,  A.D.  1314.  At  the  Dissolution  of  Religious 
Houses,  this  Priory,  with  all  its  Revenues  and  Superiorities,  was 
given  by  the  King  to  Campbell  of  Glenorchy,  ancestor  to  the 
Earl  of  Breadalbane,  in  whose  possession  it  still  remains. 
[Spottiswoode.] 

Brockie  (MS.,  p.  8302)  devotes  several  hundred  lines  to  a 
Metrical  Ballad  on  the  Battle  of  Bannockburn,  composed  by  a 
Carmelite  Monk,  Robert  "Bastonumistius,"  a  Poet  whom  King 
Edward,  sure  of  victory,  had  brought  along  with  him  to  chafe 
the  Scotch  in  Rhyme.  This  Poetical  Monk  was  taken  captive  at 
the  Battle,  and  necessitated,  for  his  freedom,  to  turn  his  Song  in 
the  reverse  strain. 

In  the  Etterick  is  The  Pool  of  S.  Fillan,  immersion  in  which 
the  superstitious  long  believed  was  a  cure  for  rheumatic  complaints 
and  madness. 

An  Account  of  the  Crozier  of  S.  Fillan,  with  Photographs,  is 
given  in  the  "Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  Scot- 
land," vol.  in.,  p.  233. 

VALUATION    OF    THE    PRIOBY    OF    STBATHFILLAN    (dr.    1575). 

Money — £40  Is  Qd. 


PEIOEIES  OF  SCARINCHE  AND  ABEKNETHY.  275 

XXV.  SCABINCHE, 

In  the  Isle  of  Lewis,  and  Shire  of  Ross,  Founded  by  the 
Macleods  of  the  Lewis,  in  honour  of  S.  Catan — "In  honorem 
Sti.  Catani,  cujus  exuvias  ibidem  asservari  traditione  acceptum 
est."  [Spottiswoode.] 

Macleod  was  so  taken  with  the  manners  of  the  Abbot  Maurice 
at  the  Battle  of  Bannockburn,  that  he  requested  him  to  come 
and  reside  at  Scarinche,  where  he  erected  a  Monastery  to  S. 
Catan,  whose  Eelics  were  there.  S.  Catan  was  the  uncle  of  S. 
Blane.  George  Newton,  Archdeacon  of  Dunblane,  says,  "  Sanctus 
Catanus  Episcopus,  ut  solitaries  vitse  impensius  vacaret."  Demp- 
ster, Cammerarius,  and  others,  assert  that  he  was  Buried  in 
Bute.  [Brockie's  MS.,  p.  8319.] 

VALUATION    OF    THE    PEIOBY    OF    SCARINCHE. 

No  information. 

XXVI.  ABEBNETHY 

Was  formerly  the  chief  Seat  of  the  Pictish  Kings — the 
Metropolis  both  of  the  Kingdom  and  Church  of  the  Picts.  It  is 
situated  near  the  influx  of  the  Water  of  Earn  into  the  River  Tay; 
and  the  Collegiate  Church  there  was  Dedicated  to  S.  Brigida, 
Bridget,  or  Bride,  an  Irishwoman,  who  Died  at  Abernethy  about 
A.D.  518.  Here  she  found  a  Retreat  with  her  "  Seven  Virgins." 
The  Pictish  Chronicle  has  ascribed  the  Foundation  of  Abernethy 
to  Nethan  I.,  A.D.  458,  in  the  3rd  year  of  his  Reign ;  the  Register 
of  the  Priory  of  St.  Andrews,  to  Nethan  II.,  about  A.D.  600; 
Fordun  and  Wyntoun,  to  Garnat  or  Garnard,  the  Predecessor  of 
Nethan  II.  Bede  informs  us  that  Nectan  III.,  A.D.  711,  wrote 
to  Ceolfred,  Abbot  of  Jarrow,  in  Northumberland,  asking  for 
Architects  to  build  a  Church,  which  was  to  be  Dedicated  to  S. 
Peter.  His  request  was  complied  with,  and  Masons  were  sent, 
who  erected  a  Church  after  the  Roman  manner.  Kenneth  III., 
King  of  Scots,  after  his  complete  victory  over  the  Picts,  Translated 
this  Seat  of  an  Episcopal  See  to  St.  Andrews,  during  the  Culdees, 
who  had  a  College  here  ;  for  in  the  Reign  of  Malcolm  Caenmore, 


276 


MONASTICON. 


A.D.  1057,  we  find  mention  made  of  Berbeadh,  the  Hector  of  the 
School  of  Abernethy  and  the  whole  University  there ;  and,  to 
testify  to  the  dignity  and  importance  of  the  Hector's  position,  we 
find  his  name  mentioned  as  a  Witness  to  a  Deed  of  the  King. 
The  Matrix  of  the  Seal  of  the  College,  strange  to  say,  was 
found  in  1789  in  a  Garden  at  Ennis- 
killen,  in  Ireland,  and  it  was  in  posses- 
sion of  the  Honourable  James  Drum- 
mond  of  Perth  about  fifty  years  ago.  It 
bears  on  one  side  a  Lion  rampant,  with 
the  Inscription,  "  S.  Commune  Collegii 
De  Abernethe ;"  and  on  the  other  an 
Abbess  (probably  S.  Bridget),  holding  a 
Crozier  in  her  right  hand;  and  at  her 
feet  there  is  an  animal,  seemingly  a  Cow, 
with  the  Legend  or  Inscription,  "  In 
domo  Dei  ambulavimus  cum  consensu," 
being  the  Latin  Version  of  the  14th 
Verse  of  the  55th  Psalm — in  our  Trans- 
lation, "  We  walked  unto  the  House  of 
God  in  company."  [Jameson's  History 
of  the  Culdees.] 

Here  are  quoted  the  exact  words  of  the  Bounding  Clause  of 
the  Foundation  Charter  of  Nectan  the  II.,  A.D.  617.  He  endows 
the  Church  at  Abernethy  with  Lands  "  to  the  Day  of  Judgment," 
"  cum  suis  finibus,  quae  positse  sunt  a  lapide  in  Apurfeirt,  usque 
ad  lapidem  juxta  Caerfull,  id  est  Lethfoss,  et  inde  in  altum  usque 
ad  Athan;"  that  is,  he  gave  all  the  Lands  "within  these 
bounds,  to  the  Stone  which  is  placed  in  Apurfeirt  [?  Aberfarg  or 
Aberfargie],  to  the  Stone  close  by  Caerfull  [Carpow],  that  is 
Lethfoss,  and  from  thence  to  the  Height  at  Athan."— The  Stone 
referred  to  as  being  near  Carpow,  forms  the  Boundary  betwixt 
the  Lands  of  Carpow  and  Clunie,  and  is  known  by  the  name  of 
the  "Cloven  Stone."  Usque  ad  Athan  means  "over  to  the 
Ford." 

The  next  Notice  that  we  have  of  Abernethy  (save  the  fact  of 
David,  King  of  Scotland,  with  his  son,  Henry,  having  held  a 


PEIOKY  OF  ABEKNETHY.  277 

Court  of  his  Nobles  there  in  the  year  A.D.  1124),  is  one,  not  of 
Endowment,  but  of  Spoliation.  We  are  informed  by  Jameson,  in 
his  "  History  of  the  Culdees,"  that  when  William  the  Lion 
built  the  Abbey  of  Aberbrothock,  he  Endowed  it,  somewhere 
betwixt  the  years  1189  and  1199,  with,  among  other  Donations,, 
"  the  Church  of  Abernethy,  with  its  Pertinents,  viz. — the  Chapels 
of  Dunbolc  [Dunbog],  Dron  and  Erolyn  [Errol],  with  the  Lands 
of  Belach  [Balloch]  and  Pentinlour  [Pitlour],  and  half  of  all  the 
Tithes  proceeding  from  the  Abbot  of  Abernethy,  the  other  half 
the  Culdees  ['habitunt  Keledei,'  are  the  exact  words]  shall 
possess.  The  Tithes  which  belong  to  the  Church  of  Flisk  and  to 
the  Church  of  Coultram  [Coultrie]  are  reserved,  and  those  from 
the  Lands  subject  to  the  authority  of  the  Abbot,  which  the 
Culdees  used  to  have,  viz. — Mukedrum  [Mugdrum],  Kerpul, 
Balchirewell  [now  erroneously  called  Broadwell],  Baltolly,  and  of 
Innernethy,  from  the  East  side  of  the  Burn." 

The  suffering  party,  to  all  appearance  the  Successors  of  the 
Culdees,  did  not  permit  these  Tithes  and  Lands  to  be  wrested 
from  them  without  protesting  against  the  spoliation.  They 
appealed  to  the  King.  Subsequently,  the  Pope  (Gregory  IX.) 
was  appealed  to.  He  caused  enquiry  to  be  made,  and,  after 
investigation,  in  the  year  1238  gave  orders  that  a  portion  at  least 
of  the  Property  should  be  restored.  The  portion  specially  con- 
tested was  the  Tithes  from  "Petkarry,  Petyman,  Malcarny, 
Pethorny  [Pitgornie],  Pethwnegus,  Gathanim  [Gattaway]." 

The  fact  of  the  Croft  a  little  to  the  East  of  the  Bound  Tower 
being  still  called  "  The  Bishop's  Yard,"  is  proof  that  a  Bishop 
must  have  resided  here  during  the  time  of  the  Culdees,  though, 
as  we  know,  the  Abbot  was  the  supreme  Buler. 

We  learn  from  Sibbald's  "  History  of  Fife,"  that  in  the  Keign 
of  Kobert  I.,  A.D.  1306,  the  great  Lordship  of  Abernethy  was 
divided,  in  consequence  of  Alexander  de  Abernethy  dying  without 
male  issue.  The  ancestor  of  the  Earl  of  Kothes  married  one  of 
the  daughters,  and  through  her  acquired  the  Barony  of  Ballin- 
briech.  The  Earl  of  Angus  married  another,  named  Margaret, 
and  got  the  Barony  of  Abernethy ;  and  it  is  through  this  channel 
that  the  Douglas  Family  still  hold  the  Superiority  of  the  Lands. 


278 


MONASTICON. 


Many  have  written  about  THE  BOUND  TOWER  of  Abernethy. 
Cyclopsediasts  have  borrowed  their  Accounts  from  an  able  Paper 
by  K.  K.  Brash,  Architect,  Cork,  given  in  the  "  Proceedings  of 
the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  Scotland,"  vol.  iii.,  p.  303;  from 
Gordon's  "  Itinerarium  Septentrionale,"  London,  1727 ;  from 

Gough,  Grose,  Chalmers, 
and  "Black's  History  of 
Brechin."  The  Burgh  of 
Abernethy,  in  Perthshire, 
is  3  miles  from  New- 
burgh,  in  Fifeshire,  and 
lies  at  the  foot  of  the 
Ochil  Hills,  that  bound 
Strathearn  on  the  South. 
It  lies  close  to  the  Kail- 
way  Station,  from  whence 
can  be  seen  its  ancient 
Bound  Tower,  rising  grey 
and  melancholy  above  the 
glaring  red-tiled  roofs  of 
the  surrounding  houses. 
It  stands  nearly  in  the 
centre  of  the  Town,  and 
in  the  angle  of  the  Parish 
Churchyard,  adjoining  the 
Entrance  Gate.  It  is 
partly  in  the  Graveyard 
and  partly  on  the  narrow 
road  leading  up  to  the 


ROUND  TOWER   OF   ABERNETHY. 


Kirk.  It  is  used  as  a  Bel- 
fry to  the  Established  Kirk.  There  are  timber  floors  resting  on 
the  old  stone  string-courses,  which  mark  the  various  Storeys,  with 
access  by  ladders  from  floor  to  floor.  Upon  the  upper  Storey  is 
placed  a  Clock,  the  Dial  of  which  faces  West.  Above  this  is  the 
outside,  from  which,  at  an  elevation  of  about  80  feet,  a  fine  view 
repays  well  the  "  getting  up  stairs."  The  materials  of  which 
this  Tower  is  built  are  not  found  in  the  neighbourhood.  It  is 


PEIOKY  OF  ABEKNETHY.  279 

well  known  that  there  is  only  one  similar  Bound  Tower  in  Scot- 
land, viz.,  that  of  Brechin,  probably  contemporaneous. 

The  Date  of  the  erection  of  Abernethy  Tower,  or  "  Steeple," 
as  the  inhabitants  call  it,  is  generally  conjectured  to  be  about 
A.D.  1000.  Its  purpose  seems  to  have  been  for  a  Belfry,  Beacon, 
or  Watch- Tower,  as  well  as  a  Keep  for  Ecclesiastical  Utensils, 
Plate,  Books,  MSS.,  &c.,  in  case  of  sudden  predatory  attacks. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  that  these  Bound  Towers  are  of  Chris- 
tian origin,  inasmuch  as  they  are  invariably  connected  with 
Christian  Churches  ;  and  the  fact  that  there  are  no  similar 
Towers  in  any  other  Country  except  Ireland,  proves  that  we 
must  look  for  their  origin  there,  and  the  erection  of  the  one  here 
to  the  time  of  the  most  intimate  connexion  of  Scotland  with  that 
Country. 

In  Ireland  we  find  many  of  the  Doors  of  the  Bound  Towers 
10,  20,  or  even  30  feet  above  the  ground — Abernethy  Tower  is 
several  feet  up — clearly  showing  that  this  was  to  render  them 
difficult  of  access,  and  to  be  beyond  the  reach  of  sudden  attack. 
Then  the  Doorways  are  only  wide  enough  to  admit  one  person  at 
a  time — Abernethy  is  only  2  feet  8  inches  wide ;  and  many  of 
them  in  Ireland  are  so  built  as  to  admit  of  two  Doors,  an  outer 
and  an  inner,  the  more  effectually  to  keep  out  plunderers ;  and 
then  their  height  gave  deadly  effect  to  a  stone  dropped  from  the 
top  on  the  head  of  an  unwary  Dane  attempting  to  find  an 
entrance. 

Their  round  form,  also,  is  not  without  design,  for  they  are 
clearly  less  easy  of  demolition  than  if  they  had  been  built  square 
or  with  corners.  Besides,  many  of  them  are  built  of  solid 
masonry  for  many  feet  above  the  ground,  evidently  to  render 
them  more  impregnable. 

VALUATION    OF    THE    PRIORY    OF    ABERNETHY. 

Money— £706  11s  2rf. 


MONASTICON. 


THE  CANONS  OF  S.  ANTHONY. 


THE  Order  of  S.  Anthony 


S.  Anthony  holding  in  his  right 
hand  a  Staff,  having  on  the  top  a 
Tau,  and  in  his  left  a  Book.  At 
his  left  foot  is  a  Pig,  with  a  Bell 
at  its  neck.  A.D.  1519. 


Same  Insignia  as  the  other. 
[Original  Matrix  in  the  Advo- 
cates' Library,  Edinburgh. J 


had  only  one  Monastery  in  Scotland, 
which  was  seated  at  Leith,  in  the 
Shire  of  Mid-Lothian,  and  is  now 
called  the  South-Kirk.  The  Religi- 
ous  hereof  were  brought  from  St. 
Anthony  of  Vienne,  in  the  Province 
of  Dauphiny  in  France,  the  Resi- 
dence of  the  Superior- General  of 
that  Congregation.  Their  Houses 
were  called  Hospitals,  and  their 
Governors  Prceceptores.  It  appears 
by  a  Charter  of  Humbertus,  Chief  or 
General  of  the  Order,  in  1446,  that 
these  of  Leith  did  not  live  very 
peaceably  together.  Upon  the  Com- 
mon Seal  of  their  Chapter  they 
carried  a  S.  Anthony,  clothed  with 
an  old  Gown  or  Mantle  of  an  Her- 
mit ;  and  towards  his  right  foot  a 
wild  Sow.  They  followed  the  Rule 
of  S.  Augustine,  and  wore  a  Black 
Gown  with  a  blue  T  of  stuff  on  their 
left  breast.  They  had  neither  an 
Almuce  nor  a  Rochet,  whereof  the 
Canon-Regulars  and  Bishops  made 
use.  [Spottiswoode.] 

In  1089,  a  contagious  sickness 
called  the  "  Sacred  Fire,"  which  was 
a  kind  of  dangerous  leprosy,  having 
spread  itself  into  several  parts  of 
Europe,  those  of  the  Province  of 
Vienne  in  France  had  at  last  their 
recourse  to  the  Relics  of  S.  Anthony 
the  Egyptian,  which  were  trans- 
ported, as  they  said,  from  Constan- 


S.  ANTHONY'S,  LEITH.  281 

tinople  thither  by  one  Joceline,  of  the  House  of  Poitiers.  The 
Papists  say  that  whoever  did  call  upon  him  was  delivered  from 
the  "Sacred  Fire;"  and  contrairiwise,  those  who  blasphemed, 
or  took  the  name  of  S.  Anthony  in  vain,  were  immediately,  by 
the  Saint's  unmerciful  vengeance,  delivered  up  to  it.  This  gave 
occasion  to  one,  Gaston  Frank,  in  company  with  some  other 
persons,  to  institute  in  1095  the  Religion  of  S.  Anthony,  whose 
principal  care  was  to  serve  those  sick  who  were  tormented  by  the 
"  Sacred  Fire."  He  founded  a  famous  Monastery  at  La  Motte, 
Vienne,  where  liveth  the  General  of  this  Order.  The  Papists  do 
represent  S.  Anthony  with  a  Fire  kindled  at  his  side,  to  signify 
by  this  that  he  delivers  people  from  the  "  Sacred  Fire."  They 
paint,  besides,  a  Hog,  near  to  him,  as  a  sign  that  he  cures  the 
beasts  of  all  diseases ;  and,  to  honour  him,  in  several  places  they 
keep,  at  common  charges,  a  Hog  which  they  call  S.  Anthony's 
Hog,  and  for  which  they  have  great  veneration.  Many  others 
will  have  S.  Anthony's  Picture  upon  the  walls  of  their  houses, 
hoping  by  that  to  be  preserved  from  the  Plague.  And  the 
Italians,  who  did  not  know  the  true  signification  of  the  Fire 
painted  at  his  side,  thought  that  he  preserved  houses  also  from 
being  burnt,  and  they  call  upon  him  on  such  occasions. 

As  for  the  Anthonian  Friars,  they  know  so  well  to  make  use 
of  the  power  of  their  S.  Anthony,  that  when  they  go  a-begging, 
if  one  does  refuse  what  they  ask  for,  they  threaten  immediately 
to  make  the  "Sacred  Fire"  to  fall  upon  him.  Therefore  the 
poor  country  people,  to  avoid  the  Menaces  and  Witchcrafts  of 
these  Monks,  present  them  every  year  with  a  good  fat  hog, 
a-piece.  Some  Cardinals  and  Prelates  endeavoured  to  persuade 
Pope  Paul  the  III.  to  abolish  these  wretched  begging  Friars— 
"  Qusestuarios  istos  Sancti  Anthonii,  qui  decipiunt  Rusticos  et 
Simplices,  eosque  innumeris  superstitionibus  implicent,  de  medio 
tollendos  esse."  But  they  could  not  compass  their  good  design  ; 
and  these  Monks  do  subsist  yet  to  this  day  in  several  places, 
though  the  sickness  of  S.  Anthony's  Fire  be  now  very  rare. 
[Emillianne's  Monastic  Orders,  p.  127.] 

Maitland  observes  that  "the  Vestry  of  Leith,  after  the 
1  Reformation,'  having  purchased  the  Lands  and  Properties  of 

VOL.  I.  2  N 


282  MONASTICON. 

divers  Keligious  Foundations  in  Leith  and  Newhaven,  and 
Liberties  thereof,  King  James  VI.  Granted  and  Confirmed  the 
same  by  Charter  in  1614  for  the  use  of  the  Poor."  King  James' 
Hospital  stood  on  the  South  side  of  the  Kirkgate,  nearly  oppo- 
site the  Giles'  Street  of  the  present  day,  on  the  Site  now  occupied 
by  what  is  called  The  New  Tombs.  The  Funds  of  this  Preceptory, 
and  the  new  Endowment  of  James,  were  vested  in  the  Session  of 
South  Leith,  and  were  for  many  years  appropriated  for  the 
purposes  designed  by  the  original  Donor.  They  now  appear  to 
have  merged  into  the  general  Parochial  Fund.  In  the  Charter 
granted  by  King  James,  is  mentioned — "All  the  Croft  of  Arable 
Land  contiguous  to  S.  Anthony's  Garden,  and  also  all  that  place 
and  piece  of  ground  whereon  the  Church  and  Preceptory  of  S. 
Anthony  of  the  Knight  Templars  stood," — sufficient  evidence 
that  the  Property  between  Merrylees'  Court,  S.  Anthony's  Lane, 
and  the  Port  in  the  Kirkgate — which,  during  the  Siege  in  the 
Kegency  of  Mary  of  Guise,  bore  the  same  name — was  held,  in 
common  with  Property  in  most  Parishes  in  Scotland,  by  the 
Knight  Templars.  The  origin  of  the  Order  dates  from  David 
L,  1124-53.  Some  Houses  in  Edinburgh,  and  one  in  Leith, 
bore  the  Badge  of  the  Order — a  Cross  shaped  in  fashion  of  the 
letter  T,  with  the  motto,  "LAVS  DEO,"  to  show  that  they 
held  the  superiority,  but  not,  as  is  generally  supposed,  indicating 
that  they  themselves  occupied  the  Premises. 

The  Monks  of  the  Order  were  in  the  custom  of  rearing  Pigs. 
In  the  Extract  from  Suger's  "  Life  of  Louis  le  Gros,"  given  in 
the  Note  to  Neander's  "Life  and  Times  of  S.  Bernard,"  Prince 
Philip  having  been  killed,  A.D.  1131,  in  consequence  of  a  collision 
with  a  Hog,  in  one  of  the  Faubourgs  of  Paris,  which  caused  him 
to  be  thrown  from  his  horse,  it  is  added — "An  Order  was  issued 
forbidding  Pigs  in  future  to  be  kept  in  the  streets  ;  but  the  Monks 
of  S.  Anthony  remonstrating  against  it,  were  allowed  the  exclu- 
sive privilege  for  theirs,  on  condition  of  their  hanging  a  Bell  round 
the  neck  of  each."  The  Pigs,  indeed,  made  an  important  item 
in  the  Revenues  of  the  Order.  "  This  year,"  says  Guyot  de 
Provins,  a  writer  of  the  thirteenth  Century,  "their  Pigs  will 
bring  them  in  5000  silver  Marks ;  for  there  is  not  a  Town  or 


S.  ANTHONY'S,  LEITH.  288 

Castle  in  France  where  they  are  not  fed."  Some  discrepancy 
appears  to  exist  from  the  Dates.  The  Order  of  the  Templars  was 
suppressed  by  Pope  Clement  V.  in  1312,  previous  to  the  Date  of 
this  Foundation,  who  granted  a  Decreet  conveying  their  entire 
Property  in  Scotland  to  the  kindred  Order — the  Knight  Hos- 
pitallers of  S.  John  of  Jerusalem.  After  the  "Keformation," 
1563,  Sir  James  Sandilands,  the  last  Preceptor  of  the  Order, 
resigned  the  possessions  to  the  Crown,  obtained  a  new  Charter, 
and  procured  them  to  be  erected  in  his  favour  into  the  Barony 
of  Torphichen,  the  largest  portion  of  their  Lands  being  in  that 
neighbourhood.  He  sat  in  the  Scottish  Parliament  as  Lord 
Sanct  John,  and  was  employed  in  several  Embassies  to  the 
English  and  French  Courts.  It  does  not,  however,  appear  that 
the  Superiority  of  S.  Anthony's  was  claimed  by  him.  In  the 
struggles  connected  with  the  suppression  of  Monastic  Institutions, 
many  were  lost  sight  of,  and  probably  that  of  S.  Anthony's,  till 
the  age  of  James  VI. 

In  the  Inventory  of  Deeds,  belonging  to  the  Trinity  House  of 
Leith,  is  enumerated — "Ane  charter,  granted  be  Matthew  For- 
rester, in  favour  of  the  foresaide  mariners  of  Leith,  of  the  said 
lande  on  ye  hospital  bankes,  and  for  undercallit  ye  groundes  lying 

in  Leith Also  said  yeird Dated,   26  Julij 

1567.  Sealit  and  subscrivit  be  the  said  Mat.  Forrester,  Pre- 
bander  of  S.  Antoine,  near  Leith."  One  of  the  privileges  of  the 
Soldier-Monks  was  "  an  English  gallon  of  wine  out  of  every  tun 
imported."  Like  good  Abbot  Boniface,  the  "vivers,"  although 
their  influence  was  subdued  by  S.  Anthony  in  person,  do  not 
appear  to  have  been  neglected.  This  Perquisite  was  afterwards 
exacted  in  the  shape  of  a  Money- Commutation  by  the  Session  of 
South  Leith.  Many  Entries  to  this  effect  occur — "  19th  Nov. 
1638.  The  sessioune  has  ordainit  the  wyne  vintners  in  Leith  to 
paye  thair  imposts  of  the  wyne  to  oure  sessioune,  or  otherwise  to 
be  convenit  befoir  the  kirkis,  and  than  they  sail  pay  thair  imposts 
as  we  ordain."  It  subsequently  forms  part  of  their  monthly 
Collection.  The  Session  also  elected  the  Baron  Bailie  of  S. 
Anthony's,  who  exercised  Jurisdiction  over  Leith  and  Newhaven, 
combining  in  his  person  the  Templar- Soldier,  Priest,  or  Moral 


284 


MONASTICON. 


Policeman,  holding  his  Court  at  will,  and  giving  Sentence 
without  appeal ;  thus — "  At  Leith,  9th  Feby,  1693.  On  Mondaye 
last  S.  Anthoni's  Court  was  helden  in  this  place,  and  is  to  be 
keepit  att  Newheavin  w*  ye  first  conveniencie."  As  formerly 
noticed,  it  was  on  the  Tower  of  this  Preceptory  that  the  French 
Artillery  was  placed  in  1560.  The  last  Baron  Bailie  was  Thomas 


REMAINS  OF   THE  PRECEPTORY  OP  8.   ANTHONY'S,   LEITH. 


The  Office  ceased  to  exist  after  the  Burgh  Reform  Bill 


Barker. 
of  1833. 

S.  Anthony's  Chapel,  Arthur  Seat,  has  been  generally  con- 
sidered to  have  been  an  Appenage  of  S.  Anthony's  Preceptory. 
On  this  point  no  authentic  Eecord  exists.  In  Billings'  "  Baronial 
and  Ecclesiastical  Antiquities  of  Scotland,"  the  Writer  states, 


S.  ANTHONY'S,  LEITH.  285 

part  ii.,  p.  8,  "  There  was  in  Leith  a  Convent  (?)  Dedicated  to 
S.  Anthony,  with  which  it  is  probable  that  this  Hermitage  was 
connected.  By  one  Tradition  it  is  said  to  have  been  merely 
established  for  the  Guardianship  of  the  Sacred  Fountain  in  its 
vicinity.  By  another,  it  is  said  to  have  been  a  Post  for  watching 
Vessels,  from  the  Imposts  on  which  the  Abbey  of  Holyrood 
derived  part  of  its  Revenue,  and  to  have  thus  formed  a  sort  of 
Ecclesiastical  Custom-house  Station."  Grose  attributes  its 
creation  to  more  pious,  if  not  more  disinterested,  Motives,  saying 
— "  The  situation  was  undoubtedly  chosen  with  an  intention  of 
attracting  the  notice  of  Seamen  coming  up  the  Firth,  who,  in 
cases  of  danger,  might  be  induced  to  make  Vows  to  its  Titular 
Saint."  [Antiquities  of  Leith,  by  D.  H.  Robertson,  M.D.,  p.  119.] 

"  The  Rental  Buke  of  Sanct  Anthonis  and  Newhaven  "  (being 
a  curious  little  Record  of  the  Abbey  and  Hospital  of  S.  Anthony, 
near  Leith)  is  on  Vellum,  8vo,  21  leaves,  in  the  Advocates' 
Library,  Edinburgh.  [Frag.  Scoto.  Monast.,  p.  13.] 

Alexander  Forrester,  reidar  at  Hailis  .  .  .  to  be  paid 
out  of  the  third  of  the  Hospitale  of  Sant  Anthonis  in  Leith.— 
Williame  Balfour,  reidar  at  Leith,  his  Stipend  JC20,  to  be  payit 
as  folio wis,  viz., — Out  of  the  third  of  the  Preceptorie  of  Sanct 
Anthonis  £10,  and  the  rest  to  be  pait  be  the  toun."  1576.  [Reg. 
of  Minrs.,  Exhorters,  &c.  Maitland  Club.] 

It  is  certain  that  in  the  renowned  Town  of  Leith  there  was  a 
Monastery  of  the  Canons  of  S.  Anthony,  whose  Church  is  now 
entire,  excepting  the  Altars  and  Sacred  Ornaments,  which 
modern  Calvinists  are  wont  to  subvert  for  the  Hustings.  The 
Hospital  remains,  where  some  Poor  are  kept,  and  who  Sing 
alternately  in  the  Church,  and  live  very  strictly,  according  to 
Religious  Discipline,  under  the  Preceptor.  It  is  not  easy  at  this 
distance  of  time  to  say  who  the  Founder  was.  Some  say  that 
William  Malvoisin,  the  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  returning  from 
Vienna,  first  planted  here  this  Order.  I  have  seen  the  Seal  of  the 
Chapter.  [Brockie  gives  the  description  as  I  have.]  Many  of  the 
Inhabitants  of  Edinburgh  pay  a  yearly  Cess  to  the  Hospital  of 
Leith ;  for  Writers  say  that  the  Canons  used  to  come  from  Leith, 
and  live  as  Recluses  within  the  Chapel,  near  Holy  Rood,  then 


286  MONASTICON. 

environed  with  trees,  whose  Dues  at  this  day  belong  to  Leith. 
This  Monastery  had  also  annexed  to  it  several  Parochial 
Churches,  among  which  was  the  Church  of  Liston,  which,  how- 
ever, the  Canons  were  forced  to  relinquish  ahout  A.D.  1445.  A 
great  strife  was  carried  on  between  the  Canons  of  Leith  and  the 
Chapter  of  St.  Andrews  thereanent ;  for,  being  a  Mensal  Church, 
it  could  not  have  been  Granted  without  the  consent  of  the 
Chapter.  The  Deed  of  Eenunciation  by  Friar  Michael  Gray, 
Preceptor  of  the  Hospital  of  S.  Anthony,  near  Leith,  is  in  the 
Advocates'  Library,  A.  3.  34.,  fol.  19. — Brockie  refers  to  what  is 
adduced  above  by  Spottiswoode,  as  to  the  want  of  concord  among 
the  Canons,  and  to  the  Chart  of  Dissolution  by  Humbert, 
Preceptor- General  of  the  whole  Order  at  Vienna.  [Brockie's 
MS.,  p.  8498.] 

VALUATION     OF     S.    ANTHONY'S,     LEITH. 

Money— £211  15s  Qd. 


THE   EED   FKIAKS. 

THE  Ked  Friars  (who  pretend  to  be  Canon-Kegulars,  notwith- 
standing that  that  name,  which  they  are  willing  to  assume,  is 
strongly  controverted  by  their  adversaries)  are  likewise  called 
Trinitij  Friars  or  Mathurines,  from  their  House  at  Paris,  which  is 
dedicate  to  S.  Mathurine;  as  also,  "De  redemptione  captivo- 
rum,"  their  Office  being  to  redeem  Christian  Captives  from 
Turkish  slavery.  They  were  Established  by  S.  John  of  Matha, 
and  Felix  de  Valois,  an  Anchorite  at  Cerfroid — "  apud  Cervum 
frigidum  in  territorio  Meldensi" — about  three  miles  from  Gran- 
dula.  Innocent  III.  approves  this  Institute,  and  grants  several 
Privileges  to  the  Order,  which  were  confirmed  by  Pope  Innocent 
IV.,  the  26th  November,  1246.  S.  Thomas  of  Aquinas  and  S. 
Antonine  commend  this  Order  in  their  Sums. 

Their  Houses  were  named  Hospitals  or  Ministries,  and  their 
Superiors  Ministers  [Ministri].  Their  Substance  or  Rents  were 
divided  into  three  parts,  one  of  which  was  reserved  for  redeeming 


BED  FEIAKS.  287 

Christian  Slaves  from  amongst  the  Infidels.  "  Tertia  vero  pars 
(say  their  Constitutions)  reservetur  ad  redemptionem  captivorum, 
qui  sunt  incarcerati  pro  fide  Christi  a  Paganis." 

Their  Habit  was  White,  with  a  Ked  and  Blue  Cross  Patee 
upon  their  Scapular.  Their  General  Chapter  was  held  yearly 
at  Whitsunday,  "in  octavis  Pentecostes."  Their  way  of  living 
was  much  conform  to  that  of  the  Canons  of  S.  Victor  at  Paris. 
At  their  first  Institution  their  Superior- General  was  elective,  and 
chosen  by  the  General  Chapter.  [Spottiswoode.] 

This  Order  carries  the  name  of  its  Institutor  or  Founder, 
who  was  John  of  Matha,  born  in  Provence,  in  France,  in  1154. 
He  followed  his  Studies  at  Aix  and  at  Paris,  where  he  took  his 
Degrees ;  and  being  afterwards  made  Priest,  he  retired  himself 
near  Meaux,  in  a  place  called  Cerfroid,  with  an  Hermit,  whose 
name  was  Felix,  with  whom  he  led  a  solitary  life.  Having  been 
both  admonished  (as  the  Papists  say)  in  a  Dream  to  go  to  Pope 
Innocent  III.,  accordingly  they  went.  This  Pope  having  had 
the  same  Vision,  waited  for  their  coming.  A  hideous  Phantom 
(they  say),  while  he  was  saying  Mass,  appeared  to  him  the  day 
before,  all  in  white,  with  a  Cross  half  Ked  and  half  Blue  on  his 
Breast,  holding  with  his  hands  two  Slaves  bound  in  chains  ;  and 
this  Vision  made  him  resolve  to  establish  an  Order,  whose  care 
should  be  to  go  and  redeem  the  Christian  Captives  detained  in 
Slavery  by  the  Infidels.  Having  then  conferred  with  the  two 
Hermits,  he  made  them  take  an  Habit  like  to  that  which  the 
Phantom  appeared  in  while  he  was  at  the  Altar;  and  having 
gathered  great  Alms,  he  sent  them  to  redeem  with  that  money 
several  Captives ;  which  undertaking  having  had  a  good  success, 
many  others  followed  their  example,  and  Monasteries  were 
Founded  for  them,  where  they  professed  the  Kule  of  S.  Austin. 
Their  Order  was  Confirmed  in  1207,  under  the  name  of  the  Ke- 
demption  of  Captives.  John  Matha  Founded  at  Kome  the 
Convent  of  S.  Thomas  of  Formis,  where  he  Died  in  1214.  This 
Order  was  received  in  England  in  1357,  and  was  called  the  Order 
of  Ingham.  Besides  the  Rule  of  S.  Austin,  which  they  possess, 
they  have  particular  Constitutions  approved  by  Pope  Innocent 
III.,  whereof  the  following  are  the  chiefest :— 


288  MONASTICON. 

Principal  Statutes  of  the  Order  of  the  Holy  Trinity  for  the  Redemption  of 

Captives. 

1.  All  the  Estates  or  Goods  that  fall  legally  to  them  are  to  be  divided 
into   three  parts ;   the  two  first  whereof  shall  be  employed  in  Works  of 
Charity  both  towards  themselves  and  those  that  are  in  their  Service,  and 
the  third  shall  be  applied  for  the  Eedemption  of  Captives. 

2.  All  their  Churches  ought  to  be  Dedicated  to  the  most  Holy  Trinity. 
8.  They  ought  to  acknowledge  the  Solicitor  or  Proctor  of  the  Monastery 

for  their  Superior,  who  shall  be  called  Father  Minister  of  the  House  of  the 
Holy  Trinity. 

4.  They  must  not  ride  on  Horseback,  but  on  Asses  only. 

5.  Fasts  are  ordered  four  times  a  Week,  unless  they  be  Holy  Days. 

6.  They  ought  to  eat  Flesh  only  on  Sundays  and  some  Holy  Days. 

7.  All  the  Alms  given  to  them  for  the  Kedeeming  of  Captives  ought  to 
be  faithfully  employed  for  that  purpose,  except  only  as  much  as  is  necessary 
for  the  charges  of  their  journey. 

The  rest  of  their  Constitutions  are  only  about  the  economy 
of  their  Convents,  the  manner  of  keeping  their  General  Chapters, 
and  the  election  of  their  Superiors.  As  for  the  Church  Office,  it 
is  declared  that  they  ought  to  conform  themselves  to  the  Regular 
Canons  of  the  Abbey  of  S.  Victor  at  Paris.  [Emillianne,  p.  135.] 

By  a  Bull  of  Pope  Innocent  III.,  Dated  the  21st  June,  1209, 
it  appears  that  they  had  Six  Monasteries  in  Scotland,  whilst  he 
was  Pope.  Thereafter  the  number  increased  amongst  us ;  and 
at  the  Reformation  we  find  mention  of  Thirteen  Houses,  which 
were  situate  at  the  following  Places  : — 

I.  ABERDEEN,  A.D.  1211, 

Founded  by  King  William  the  Lion,  where  now  the  Trades' 
Hospital  stands,  and  Trinity  Church.  The  King  gave  thereunto 
the  Lands  of  Banchory,  Coway,  Merellof,  a  Fishing  in  Dee  and 
Don,  with  the  Mills  of  Skerthak,  Rothemay,  Tullifully,  and 
Manismuch.  [Spottisivoode.] 

Bagman's  Roll,  A.D.  1296,  makes  mention  of  "  Frere  Huwe 
ministre  de  1'ordre  de  la  Trinitie  d'  Aberdeen,"  &c. 

This  Convent  having  been  formerly  King  William's  Palace, 
built  by  him  A.D.  1181,  was  given  by  that  Prince,  A.D.  1211,  to 
the  two  first  Friars  of  this  Order  who  came  into  Scotland,  being 


EED  FEIAES— ABEEDEEN.  289 

sent  hither  by  Pope  Innocent  III.,  who  had  Confirmed  the 
Institution  this  year. 

Brockie  enumerates  among  the  many  noble  and  pious  Monks 
connected  with  this  Order,  Kobert  Ogilvie  and  Patrick  Gillis,  who 
sailed  to  Africa  to  redeem  the  Captives  there  from  the  Saracens, 
and  who,  after  visiting  the  Holy  Land,  returned  here  about  A.D. 
1248.  He  also  enrols  the  "  Blessed "  Alexander  Wishart,  who 
spoke  in  reprehensible  terms  about  the  vicious  lives  of  several  of 
the  Bishops,  whereat  Bishop  William  [None  of  this  name  at  the 
Period]  was  highly  displeased,  and  ordered  him  to  be  imprisoned. 
While  the  Jailor  was  about  to  lock  the  door,  the  iron  Key  was 
miraculously  bitten  through  in  his  hands,  and  part  of  it  stuck  in 
the  key-hole.  Word  was  brought  to  the  Bishop,  who,  terrified, 
forthwith  became  penitent  for  his  faults!  The  " Blessed  Alex- 
ander" Died  A.D.  1227.  He  wrote  six  Books  on  the  "  Six  Days' 
Creation,"  three  Books  of  "  Comments  on  the  Epistle  to  the 
Komans,"  and  other  small  Books.  His  Tomb  is  in  the  Eastern 
part  of  the  Choir  of  the  Church,  which  was  frequented  by  the 
sick  and  diseased,  who  found  relief. — Kichard  Wyram,  Bishop  of 
Sidon,  in  Phoenicia,  was  resident  here  A.D.  1296.  He  was 
obliged  to  vacate  his  See  through  the  tyranny  of  the  Saracens. 
He  Died  1306,  and  was  Buried  in  the  Cloister. — John  Stuart, 
afterwards  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  was  one  of  this  Order,  and 
resident  here.  He  wrote  two  Books  on  the  "  Apocalypse  of  S. 
John."  [Brockic's  MS.,  pp.  8528,  8574.]  . 

Camerarius  [Cameron]  calls  this  Convent  his  Monastery — 
monasterium  suwn — and  says  that  he  was  going  to  defend  it ;  and 
also  seems  to  intimate  that  he  was  Prior  of  it. 


FRIARS. 

GEORGE  INNES  was  probably  the  first  Native  of  Scotland  who  was  raised 
to  the  Dignity  of  a  Cardinal.  A  brief  Memoir  was  written  by  Bishop  John 
Geddes,  in  the  Archaologia  Scotica,  vol.  m.,  -pp.  130-133.  There  is  a  Portrait 
of  him,  by  a  Spanish  Artist,  in  the  Hall  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries, 
Edinburgh.  He  wrote  the  following  Treatises  in  Latin  : — 1.  "  A  Lamenta- 
tion upon  the  Holy  Land;"  2.  "A  Description  of  the  Destruction  of 
Jerusalem ;"  3.  "  On  the  Dolours  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary ;"  4.  "  On  the 
Order  of  his  Monastery."  He  became  a  Monk  at  Aberdeen,  but  Died  abroad. 
VOL.  i.  2  o 


290  MONASTICON. 

He  was  alive  in  1414.  [Collections  on  the  Shires  of  Aberdeen  and  Banff,  vol. 
i.,  p.  204.] 

EDWARD  KOBINSON  was  a  Monk  here  in  1417.  He  was  a  good  Scholar, 
and  taught  laboriously.  He  wrote  a  Volume  on  "  The  Defence  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures."  [Dempster.] 

PATRICK,  a  Native  of  Dornoch,  in  Sutherland,  was  Superior  of  this 
Monastery.  When  the  "  Eeformers"  entered  it  with  ladders,  and  destroyed 
right  and  left  with  fire  and  sword,  this  Monk  was  slain,  by  a  cut  in  the  fore- 
head, in  1559.  [Dempster.] 

FRANCIS,  A.D.  1559,  one  of  the  Friars  here.  While  the  ''Heretics  of 
Aberdeen"  were  furiously  debauched,  and  burning  this  Monastery,  he  was 
first  stabbed  in  his  bowels  by  the  "Eeformers,"  then  thrown  down  stairs, 
and,  at  last,  pierced  with  many  wounds,  was  thrown  into  the  fire.  His 
sufferings  were  endured  from  the  4th  till  the  8th  December.  [Dempster.] 

VALUATION    OP    TRINITY   FRIARS,  ABERDEEN. 

Money— £54  Is  IkZ. 

II.  DUNBAK,     A.D.  1218, 

In  the  Shire  of  Haddington,  was  Founded  hy  Patrick,  Earl 
of  Dunhar  and  March.  The  Lands  of  this  Monastery  were  at 
the  "  Reformation "  granted  to  George  Hume  of  Friarslands, 
ancestor  to  Hume  of  Furde.  [Spottisivoode.] 

Patrick,  Earl  of  Dunbar,  had  two  cousins,  George  and  James, 
who  sailed  to  the  Holy  Land,  and  were  slain  by  the  Turks. 
Earl  Patrick  saw  in  a  Dream  one  coming  to  him  imploring  his 
aid,  whereupon  he  went  to  Aberdeen,  and  gave  much  gold  and 
silver  to  John  Gumming,  one  of  the  Order  of  the  Holy  Trinity 
there,  whom  he  knew  to  be  very  fit  in  Kedeeming  Captives, 
urging  him  to  journey  to  Algeria  to  ransom  his  kinsmen,  pro- 
mising, besides,  to  Found  a  very  large  Monastery  of  that  Order. 
After  eight  months  Gumming  returned,  having  reduced  the 
number  of  Captives,  whereupon  the  Earl  yielded  up  one  of  his 
own  Princely  Residences,  with  all  his  Lands  at  Musselburgh,  and 
appointed  John  Gumming  the  first  Minister  of  his  Monastery. 
He  was  a  very  celebrated  Monk,  who  rescued  many  of  the  Irish 
Nobility  from  the  Saracens,  and  also  the  Earl  of  Kildare.  He 
was  also  the  first  who  introduced  the  Order  of  Red  Friars  into 
Ireland,  at  Altharah,  in  the  Diocese  of  Limerick,  A.D.  1230. 
There  was  a  renowned  Alumnus  of  the  Monastery  of  Dunbar— 


BED  FEIAES— HOUSTON.  291 

Gilbert  Dunbar,  a  relative  of  the  Founder — who  afterwards  was 
refused  by  Johanna,  daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Galloway.  He 
wrote  four  Books  on  Heavenly  Glory,  and  Died  A.D.  1248.  The 
Fanatics  of  the  Heresiarch  Knox  burnt  this  Monastery  to  ashes, 
when  all  the  Documents  perished.  [Brockie' s  MS.,  p.  8541.] 

VALUATION    OF    TRINITY    FRIARS,    DUNBAR. 

No  information. 

III.  HOUSTON,     A.D.  1226, 

In  the  Shire  of  Eenfrew,  was  Founded  at  this  Date.  Friar 
John,  Master  of  the  Trinity  Hospital  of  Houston,  is  made 
mention  of  A.D.  1296,  by  Prynne,  p.  656.  [Spottiswoode.] 

Hugh  of  Houston,  who  owned  the  Lands  of  that  Territory, 
Founded  the  Order  of  Trinity  Friars  here  about  A.D.  1226. 
Brockie  makes  out  from  an  "  Anonymous  Writer"  that  William 
Meldrum  was  first  " Master"  here,  and  that  he  was  Promoted 
therefrom  by  Pope  Honorius  III.  to  the  See  of  Glasgow ! 
[Brockie  s  MS.,  p.  8546.]  No  such  Bishop  is  upon  record. 

In  an  Aisle  adjoining  the  East  end  of  the  Choir  are  several  Sepulchral 
Monuments,  particularly  a  magnificent  Tomb  of  neat  workmanship,  in  Free- 
stone. In  front,  under  a  Canopy,  resembling  an  alcove  bed,  are  placed  two 
Statues  as  big  as  the  life.  The  one  is  said  to  be  an  Effigy  of  Sir  Patrick 
Houston  of  that  Ilk,  who  Died  in  the  year  1450 ;  and  the  other  of 
his  lady,  Agnes  Campbell,  who  Died  in  ye  year  1456.  The  one  repre- 
senting Sir  Patrick  is  dressed  in  a  Coat  of  Mail,  his  head  lying  on  a  Pillow, 
and  his  feet  on  a  Lion  with  a  wide  mouth,  holding  a  Lamb  in  his  paws 
under  him.  The  Image  of  the  lady  is  dressed  as  in  Grave  Clothes,  neatly 
cut  in  stone.  Both  their  hands  are  elevated,  as  in  a  Praying  or  Supplicating 
posture.  Kound  the  Verge  of  the  Tomb  there  is  an  Inscription  in  Saxon 
Capitals,  but  so  much  effaced  that  little  of  it  can  be  distinctly  read. 

Upon  the  South  Wall  of  the  Aisle,  there  is  a  large  Frame  of  Timber,  on 
which  are  two  Pictures,  seemingly  done  with  Oil  Colours,  but  much  worn  out. 
On  the  right  side,  a  man,  in  complete  Armour,  resembling  that  of  a  Knight 
Templar,  with  an  Inscription  in  Saxon  Characters  over  his  head,  some 
words  of  which  are  effaced — "Hie  jacet  Dominus  Joannes  Houston  de 
eodem  miles,  qui  obiit  anno  Dom.  MCCCC°."  On  the  left,  a  Picture  of  his 
lady,  also  much  effaced,  and  over  her  head  the  following  Inscription : — 
"Hie  jacet  Domina  Maria  Colquhoun,  sponsa  quondam  dicti  Domini 
Joannes,  qua3  obiit  septimo  die  mensis  Octobris,  an.  Dom.  M°CCCC°  quinto," 


292  MONASTICON. 

Oil  the  same  side  of  the  Aisle  is  a  fine  Monument,  with  a  variety  of 
Emblematical  Figures,  part  of  it  fine  Freestone,  but  most  of  it  Stucco.  On 
the  top  is  the  Image  of  an  old  man,  with  long  flowing  hair,  and  a  Crown  on 
his  head,  with  a  loose  Kobe,  having  one  foot  on  a  large  Globe  with  a  small 
Image  on  each  side,  holding  a  Trumpet  to  their  mouth.  Across  the  Globe  is 
a  Chain,  hanging  down  on  each  side  and  fixed  below,  where  there  are,  in  a 
standing  posture,  two  Images  resembling  children,  each  holding  a  Link  of 
the  Chain :  the  one  on  the  right  hand  has  three  faces,  the  other  on  the  left 
hand  is  blindfolded,  as  with  a  cloth  bound  over  the  eyes.  There  are  several 
other  Figures  on  the  sides,  and  below  the  following  Inscription: — "Hie 
sita  est  Domina  Anna  Hamilton,  delectissima  Domini  Patricii  Houston,  de 
odem,  Baronetti,  conjux  sua,  quse  obiit  tertio  die  idus  Maias,  anno  salutis 
partae,  milesimo  sexcentesimo  et  septuagesimo  octavo."  [Old  Stat.  Acct., 
vol.  i.,2i.  328.] 

VALUATION    OF    TRINITY   FRIARS,    HOUSTON. 

No  information. 

IV.  HOUSTON, 

There  was  an  Hospital  in  East  Lothian,  Haddingtonshire, 
though  the  piety  of  the  Founder,  and  the  Site  of  the  Foundation, 
be  now  equally  unknown,  as  Folly  has  changed  the  name  of  the 
Place  which  was  once  devoted  by  Wisdom.  Among  the  East 
Lothian  Gentry  who  swore  fealty  to  Edward  I.  at  Berwick,  on 
the  28th  August,  1296,  was  "  Friar  John,  the  Master  of  the 
Trinity  Hospital  at  Howeston."  [Prynne,  vol.  Hi.,  p.  956.— 
This  Entry  is  plainly  the  same  as  that  under  the  former 
Houston.  Query — To  which  of  the  two  does  it  refer  ?]  A 
Writ  was  soon  after  issued  to  the  Sheriff  of  Haddington, 
directing  the  restoration  of  the  Property  of  the  Holy  Trinity  at 
Howeston.  [Rymer,  vol.  ii.,  p.  726.]  In  Bagimont's  Roll,  the 
"Magistratus  de  Howston,"  in  the  Deanery  of  Hadington,  is 
rated  at  J08 ;  yet  Houston  appears  as  a  Provostry  in  the  Books  of 
the  Priory  Seal ;  perhaps  it  had  been,  in  the  meantime,  converted 
into  a  Collegiate  Church. 

VALUATION    OF    TRINITY    FRIARS,    HOUSTON. 

No  information. 

V.  SCOTLANDWELL,       A.D.  1250, 

Situate  on  the  North  side  of  the  Water  of  Leven,  in  the 
Shire  of  Kinross,  called  in  Latin  Fons  Scotice,  was  an  Hospital, 


BED  FKIAES— SCOTLAND  WELL.  293 

first  Founded  by  William  Malvoisine,  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews, 
who  Died  about  A.D.  1238  ;  which  was  afterwards  bestowed 
upon  the  Ked  Friars,  by  David  de  Benham,  Bishop  of  St. 
Andrews,  his  immediate  Successor.  His  Charter  is  Dated  "in 
crastino  Circumcisionis  Domini,  anno  1250."  The  Parish  Church 
of  Moonzie,  on  the  top  of  a  hill  to  the  South  of  Cairnie,  in  Fife, 
in  the  Presbytery  of  Cupar,  with  the  Parish  Church  of  Carnock, 
in  the  Presbytery  of  Dunfermline,  belonged  to  this  place.  This 
Foundation  and  Gift  occasioned  the  Kegular  Canons  of  St. 
Andrews  to  complain  to  the  Pope,  that  the  Bishop  had  intro- 
duced the  Eed  Friars  into  a  Parish  belonging  to  them,  "  eorun- 
dem  prioris  et  capituli  neglecto  consensu;"  whereupon  we  have 
a  Bull  of  Pope  Innocent  IV.  about  A.D.  1250,  for  preventing  such 
enterprises  to  the  prejudice  of  the  Chapter  of  St.  Andrews.  The 
Euins  of  the  Church  and  House  are  yet  to  be  seen  at  the  foot  of 
the  Bishop's  Hill.  [Spottiswoode^] 

From  the  Cartulary  of  St.  Andrews,  it  appears  that  Henry, 
Prior  of  St.  Andrews,  Confirms  the  Gift  of  Bishop  Malvoisin  to 
S.  Mary's  Hospital,  Lochleven,  of  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Trinity 
of  Auchtermuchty,  with  the  Tithes,  Lands,  and  Oblations,  &c., 
pertaining  to  it. — Dated  at  the  Church  of  Berwick.  The 
Churches  of  Berwick  and  Carnock  both  belonged  to  the  Eed 
Friars.  Before  the  Trinity  Friars  came  to  Scotlandwell,  the 
Culdees  had  possession.  Eobert  I.  often  visited  these  Friars. 
Edward  Hadelston  of  that  Ilk,  from  whom  was  Prior  John 
Hadelston  of  St.  Andrews,  was  Prior  of  the  Eed  Friars  here  in 
1287.  He  wrote  four  Books  on  the  Origin  of  the  Hebrew 
Tongue,  and  two  on  Angels.  He  is  Buried  in  the  Monastery. 
[Brockie's  MS.,  p.  8548.] 

11  Feb.,  1591.  King  James  VI.  dispones  to  David  Arnot, 
eldest  son  of  Andrew  Arnot,  Minister  at  Scotland- Well — Mano- 
riam  de  Scotland-Well  cum  Domibus  et  cum  terris  de  Kilmagad 
voca*  Lieivode,  et  jacen.  infra  Eegalitatem  Sti.  Andrese  et  vice- 
comitatum  de  FyfL—  G.S.B.  38,  No.  212.  [Middle's  MS.  Notes.] 

VALUATION    OP    TRINITY    FRIAKS,    SCOTLANDWELL. 

Money— £102.     Bear— 2  Chalders,  11  Bolls;  Meal— 5  Chatters,  11  Bolls, 
3  Firlots,  3i  Pecks. 


294  MONASTICON. 

VI.  FAILFORD,     A.D.  1252, 

In  the  County  of  Ayr,  Founded  at  this  Date.  There  is  a 
Charter  of  "  Joannes  de  Graham,"  designed  "  Dominus  de  Thor- 
bolton  in  Kyle  Senescalli,"  granting,  "pro  salute  animae  suae, 
et  Isabellae  sponsae  suae,  &c.  Deo,  et  doinui  Failefurd,  et  fratri 
Johanni  ministro,  et  fratribus  ordinis  sanctissimae  Trinitatis  et 
Captivorum,  jus  patronatus  et  advocationis  Ecclesiae  de  Thor- 
bolton.  Datum  apud  Failefurd,  in  crastino  Epiphaniae  Domini, 
anno  gratiae  1337."  This  Charter  is  Confirmed  "apud  Dun- 
donald,  5to  die  mensis  Augusti,  anno  1368,"  by  John,  Lord  Kyle 
and  Earl  of  Carrick,  who  was  afterwards  King,  and  was  named 
Robert  III.  [Spottiswoode.] 

In  1252,  Andrew  Bruce,  a  noble  Baron,  Founded  a  Monas- 
tery of  Trinity  Friars  at  Failford.  Archibald  Spence  was  the 
first  "  Minister."-  Alexander  Deace,  Provincial  Minister  of 
Scotland,  held  Office  here.  [Brockie's  MS.,  p.  8500.] 

William  Wallace,  Minister  at  Failfurd,  brother-german  to 
John  Wallace  of  Craigie,  got  from  King  James  VI.,  Manoriem 
locum  domus  et  edificia  Monasterii  de  Failfurde  cum  hortis. 
Epist.,  2d  June,  1590.  [Riddles  MS.  Notes.] 

Though  this  Priory  was  originally  in  the  Parish  of  Barnweill, 
it  is  now  within  the  extended  bounds  of  Tarbolton.  The  Parish 
of  Barnweill  has  been,  at  least  ecclesiastically,  suppressed  since 
1714,  although  it  still  stands  in  the  Cess  Books  of  the  County  as 
a  distinct  Parish.  Fail  Monastery  was  Founded  in  1252,  but  by 
whom  is  unknown.  It  belonged  to  the  Red  Friars,  who  were 
called  Mathurincs,  from  the  House  Dedicated  to  S.  Mathurine  in 
Paris.  They  were  also  styled  "Fathers  of  Redemption "  (Patres 
de  Redemptione  Captivorum),  it  being  part  of  their  duty  to 
redeem  Captives  from  Slavery.  When  this  Monastery  was 
Founded,  the  Serf  system,  or  Local  Slavery,  prevailed.  The 
Peasantry  were  sold  and  bought  along  with  the  soil.  There  are 
many  instances  of  this  in  the  Feudal  transfers  of  Property  down 
to  a  comparatively  recent  Date.  In  a  Charter  of  Vendition  in 
reference  to  certain  Lands  in  Girvan  Parish,  so  late  as  the  29th 
November,  1739,  before  Feudal  jurisdictions  were  done  away 


BED  FRIARS— FAILFORD.  295 

with,  we  find  the  old  style  of  conveyance  still  retained.     So  the 
Friars  of  Fell  had  a  wide  field  for  their  benevolent  exertions. 

Our  early  merchant-men  suffered  greatly  from  Foreign 
Pirates,  and  many  of  our  ships'  crews  were  made  Captives.  Un- 
questionable evidence  remains  in  the  Presbytery  Books  to  show 
that  the  Mission  of  the  Monastery  of  Fail  was  carried  out  long 
after  the  "Reformation;"  e.g.,  the  following  Minute: — 

Ayr,  3rd  August,  1642.— This  day,  William  Hunter,  Ruling  Elder, 
presented  two  Letters  from  sundrie  Captives  of  Ayr,  now  in  Salio,  taken  by 
the  Turks,  for  their  Redemption;  quhilk  being  read  and  considered,  the 
Presbytery  appointed  the  Brethren  to  intimate  the  sarnyn  to  their  People, 
and  desire  them  to  prepare  themselves  with  their  charitable  contributions  to 
the  effect  foresaid. 

The  Principal  of  the  Monastery  was  styled  "Minister,"  and, 
as  Head  of  the  Order,  had  a  Seat  in  Parliament.  From  the 
Cartulary  of  Mebose  (with  which  Fail  was  associated,  by  reason 
of  no  small  portion  of  the  Lands  of  Tarbolton  being  gifted  at  an 
early  period  to  the  Monks  of  Melrose),  the  Author  of  the 
Statistical  Account  of  Tarbolton  Parish  has  furnished  some  inter- 
esting Notices  in  reference  to  the  acquisition  of  Property  by  the 
Monks  of  Melrose  and  Fail,  which  are  here  given. 

The  earliest  of  the  "Friars  of  Faill"  seems  to  have  been 
"Brother  John,"  who  was  the  Chief  or  "Minister"  of  Failford 
in  1343.  There  are  some  Documents  extant  relating  to  this 
Brother  John  and  a  White  Horse.  In  a  Notarial  Instrument, 
dated  25th  November,  1343,  Johannes  de  Graham,  nuper  Dominus 
de  Tarbolton,  confesses  that  after  his  Grant  to  his  cousin,  Kobert 
de  Graham,  which  Grant  had  been  Confirmed  by  the  Seneschal 
of  Scotland,  and  approved  by  the  Chapter  of  Glasgow,  Brother 
John,  Minister  of  the  House  of  the  Holy  Trinity  at  Ffele,  in  the 
Diocese  of  Glasgow,  had  given  him  a  White  Horse  for  the  right 
of  Patronage  to  the  Church  of  Tarbolton ;  which  Horse  the  said 
Minister  John  had  afterwards  forcibly  taken  away  (manu  forti 
abstulit)  from  the  said  John  de  Graham.  This  Confession  was 
made  at  Tarbolton,  in  the  Church,  before  Thomas  de  Gedwrath, 
Monk  of  the  Cistercian  Order,  and  others. — Another  Document, 
entitled  Eevocatio  Johannis  de  Graham  filii,  sets  forth  that  things 


296  MONASTICON. 

which  are  done  through  impetuosity  of  temper  and  facility  of 
disposition  are  revocable ;  that,  being  ignorant  of  Law,  Brother 
John  had,  by  his  flatteries  and  most  pernicious  present  (71071  sine 
munere  pessimo),  persuaded  him  to  annul  his  former  Grant  to  his 
dear  cousin ;  that  he  recals  this  error,  and  will  subject  himself, 
as  is  fitting,  to  the  correction  due  to  his  offence.  Datum  apud 
Tarbolton,  21st  February,  for  the  salvation  of  his  soul,  and  that 
of  Emma,  his  wife. — Other  two  Charters  by  Robert  de  Graham 
show  that  the  affair  of  the  White  Horse  was  a  straggle  betwixt 
the  Monks  of  Melrose  and  the  Friars  of  Fail  for  the  increase  of 
their  Patronage  and  the  extension  of  their  Lands — John  de 
Graham  being  the  dupe  of  the  one  set,  and  Eobert  de  Graham 
the  prey  of  the  other.  The  Superior,  or  "  Minister,"  of  Fail,  by 
his  flatteries  and  the  douceur  of  the  White  Nag,  had  prevailed 
with  John  de  Graham  to  convey  to  the  House  of  Fail  what  was 
no  longer  his  to  bestow.  Neither  John  de  Graham  nor  Kobert 
de  Graham  could  write  his  own  name :  each  Charter  bears  that 
the  person  granting  it  had  affixed  his  Seal  before  Witnesses. 

The  Monastery  of  Fail  appears  to  have  been  surrounded  at 
one  time  by  the  Loch.  The  Gable  and  part  of  the  Side  Wall  of 
the  Manor-House  of  the  Chief,  or  "  Minister,"  are  still  standing. 
There  belonged  to  the  Monastery  five  Parish  Churches,  viz., 
Barnweill,  Symington,  and  Galston,  in  Kyle;  Torthorwald,  in 
Dumfriesshire ;  and  Inverchoalan,  in  Argyleshire. 

On  the  7th  May,  1532,  the  King  granted  a  Precept  for  the 
admission  of  "Fratris  Johannis  Hamilton,  ministri  de  Fail,  ad 
ministralium  ejusdem,"  being  appointed  thereunto  by  the  Pope. 
[Privy  Seal  Beg.,  ix.,  107.J  On  the  9th  January,  1537-8,  Sir 
James  Hamilton  of  Finnart  obtained  a  Grant  of  the  Temporal 
Kevenues  of  the  Ministry  of  Fail,  which  was  then  vacant  by  the 
death  of  John  Hamilton,  until  the  lawful  appointment  of  a 
Minister.  [Hid  xi.,  44.]  In  1540,  Eobert  Cunningham,  at  the 
age  of  22,  a  bastard  of  William,  the  Earl  of  Glencairn,  was 
appointed  Minister  of  Failford,  vacant  by  the  decease  of  John 
Hamilton,  the  last  Minister.  [Epis.  Peg.  Scot.,  u.,  86-7.]  The 
Minister  of  Failford,  Eobert  Cunningham,  sat  in  Parliament 
among  the  Clergy  in  1546  and  in  1560.  [Act a  Parl,  ii.,  467, 


RED  FRIARS— PEEBLES.  297 

525.]  On  the  6th  March,  1563-4,  Robert  Cunningham,  the 
Minister  of  Faill,  obtained  a  yearly  pension  of  £100  from  the 
Queen's  Casualties  during  life,  or  until  he  be  provided  with  a 
Benefice  of  100  Marks  yearly.  [Privy  Seal  Reg.,  xxxii.,  40.] 
The  Patronage  of  the  Church  of  Garrel,  in  Dumfriesshire,  appears 
from  the  above  authority  [xxxiii.,  135]  to  have  belonged  to  this 
Convent  in  1565.  William  Wallace,  Minister  of  Failfurd  during 
the  Reign  of  James  VI.,  Died  in  1617;  and  his  son,  William, 
seems  to  have  considered  this  Monastery,  and  what  remained  of 
its  Property,  as  his  inheritance.  In  August,  1619,  there  was  a 
Grant  to  Mr.  Walter  Whyteford  of  the  Benefice  of  the  Ministrie 
of  Failfurd.  This  Grant  was  ratified  in  1621  by  Parliament : 
there  was  another  ratification  by  Parliament  in  June,  1633.  The 
person  who  was  thus  favoured  was  Dr.  Walter  Whyteford,  one  of 
the  King's  Chaplains,  and  Sub-Dean  of  Glasgow.  In  October, 
1690,  William,  Earl  of  Dundonald,  was  served  Heir  of  his  father, 
John,  Earl  of  Dundonald,  in  the  Benefice  of  Failfurd,  "  as  well 
temporalitie  as  spiritualitie."  [Inquisit.  Special.,  657.]  In  this 
Inquisition,  the  Lands  of  the  Convent  are  specified.  [Chalmers' 
Caledonia,  as  also  Paterson's  Ayr.] 

VALUATION    OF    TRINITY    FRIAKS,    FAILFORD    (dr.   1562). 

Money— £184  6s  Sd.  Bear— 3  Chatters  ;  Meal— 15  Chatters,  4  Bolls ; 
Cheese — 80  Stones  ;  Hoggs  (young  Sheep) — 10  ;  Stirks — 3  ;  Grilse  or 
Salmon — 2  Dozen. 

When  this  Eental  was  given  up,  "  twa  puir  men"  lived  in  the  Convent, 
and  had  £22  yearly  for  their  subsistence.  ''Four  auld  beid  men  of  the 
Convent,"  who  lived  out  of  the  Place,  received  each  of  them  11  Bolls  of 
Meal,  and  12  Bolls  of  Malt  yearly,  and  8  Marks  each  of  Habits  Silver  and 
Eithing  Silver. 

VII.  PEEBLES.     A.D.  1257. 

The  Ministry  or  Cross  Church  was  Founded  by  King  Alex- 
ander III.  [See  Boethius,  lib.  xiii.,  and  Joan  Major,  ad  annum 
prcedictum.]  King  Kobert  II.  grants  to  Friar  Thomas,  designed 
"Capellano  suo,  pratum  regium  juxta  villam  de  Peebles." 
And  "Frere  Thomas,  ministere  de  Sanctae  Croix  de  Peebles,"  is 
recorded  in  Pry  tine's  Collections,  p.  662.  [Spottiswoode.] 

VOL.  I.  2  P 


298  MONASTICON. 

In  1543  the  Parish  Church  of  S.  Andrew  was,  by  the  Munici- 
pal Corporation  of  the  Burgh,  and  John,  Lord  Hay  of  Tester, 
erected  into  a  Collegiate  Church,  endowed  for  a  Provost,  two 
Prebends,  and  two  Choristers.  The  Prebends,  which  appear  to 
have  been  Founded  in  part  from  the  Kevenues  of  previously 
existing  Chantries,  had  the  names  of  S.  Mary,  the  Holy  Cross, 
S.  Michael  the  Archangel,  S.  Mary  major,  S.  John  Baptist,  S. 
Mary  del  Geddes,  S.  Andrew,  S.  James,  S.  Lawrence,  and  S. 
Christopher.  The  Endowment  made  by  the  Burgh  and  Lord 
Tester  was  probably  no  more  than  a  yearly  sum  of  24  Merks, 
with  a  Chamber  and  a  Tard. 

Of  the  Foundation  of  the  Conventual  Church  of  the  Holy  Cross 
in  Peebles,  by  Alexander  III.,  John  of  Fordun  gives  an  ample 
narrative  : — "  In  the  year  of  our  Lord  1261,  the  13th  year  of  the 
Eeign  of  King  Alexander,  upon  the  9th  of  May,  a  magnificent 
and  venerable  Cross  was  found  at  Peblis,  in  the  presence  of 
divers  honourable  men,  Priests,  Clerks,  and  Burghers.  In  what 
year  or  by  what  persons  it  was  hidden  there,  is  wholly  unknown  ; 
but  it  is  supposed  to  have  been  buried  by  certain  of  the  Faithful 
about  A.D.  296,  when  Maximinian's  Persecution  was  raging  in 
Britain.  In  the  same  place,  not  long  afterwards,  there  was  found 
a  Stone  Urn,  as  it  were,  three  or  four  paces  from  the  spot  where 
that  glorious  Cross  was  found.  It  contained  the  ashes  and 
bones  of  a  human  body,  which  seemed  to  have  been  dismem- 
bered; but  whose  relics  they  were  no  one  yet  knows.  Some, 
however,  there  are  who  think  they  were  the  remains  of  him  whose 
name  was  written  on  the  Stone  on  which  that  Holy  Cross  lay ; 
for  on  that  Stone  was  graven  without,  The  Place  of  Saint  Nicholas 
the  Bishop.  In  the  place  where  the  Cross  was  found,  frequent 
miracles  were  wrought  by  it,  and  are  still  wrought ;  and  multi- 
tudes of  the  people  flocked  together,  and  do  still  devoutly  flock, 
making  their  Oblations  and  Vows  to  God.  Wherefore,  the  King, 
by  advice  of  the  Bishop  of  Glasgow,  caused  a  stately  Church  to 
be  built  there,  in  honour  of  God  and  the  Holy  Kood." 

^  The  Church  thus  erected  was  given  to  the  Red  or  Trinity 
Friars,  whose  Ministery  or  Hospital  in  Peebles  was  probably 
coeval  with  the  Building. 


EED  FEIAES— PEEBLES.  .  299 

In  1296,  "  Frere  Thomas,  mestre  de  la  Meson  de  la  Seinte 
Croice  de  Pebbles,"  swore  fealty  and  homage  to  Edward  I.  as 
Overlord  of  Scotland.  Kobert  II.,  in  1390,  gave  to  the  Church 
of  the  Holy  Kood  of  Peebles,  to  Friar  Thomas,  the  King's  Chap- 
lain, and  to  his  Successors  serving  in  the  same  Church,  "the 
Meadow,  called  the  King's  Meadow,  free  of  all  secular  tax  or 
burden,  and  with  power  to  the  Chaplain,  for  the  time  being,  to 
bring  it  into  culture.  The  Convent  is  said  to  have  had  Grants 
from  the  Frasers  of  Neidpath  and  of  East  Fenton ;  to  have  pos- 
sessed Houses  in  Edinburgh,  and  Land  in  the  Parish  of  Cramond, 
in  Lothian ;  and  to  have  received,  in  1529,  a  "  House  in  Dunbar, 
built  by  Christian  Bruce,  Countess  of  Dunbar,  and  bequeathed 
by  her  to  the  Brethren  of  the  Trinity  Friars  there."  But  the 
Eental  of  the  "Ministery  of  Peebles,"  given  up  at  the  Keforma- 
tion  by  the  Minister,  Gilbert  Brown,  Parson  of  Ketins,  makes 
mention  only  of  the  Kirk  and  Kirklands  of  Ketins  (in  the  Deanery 
of  Angus,  and  Diocese  of  S.  Andrews) ;  the  Temporal  Lands  of 
Houston;  certain  Acres  lying  above  Dunbar;  certain  Fields 
beside  the  Cross  Kirk  of  Peebles ;  and  the  King's  Meadow. 

The  Conventual  Buildings,  which  stood  on  the  North-East 
side  of  the  old  Town,  at  the  end  of  the  King's  Orchards,  are 
described  as  forming  a  quadrangle.  The  Church  stood  on  the 
South  side,  and  measured  102  feet  in  length,  by  32  in  width; 
the  Side  Walls  were  24  feet  in  height,  and  3  feet  thick.  In  the 
Fore-Wall  of  the  Church,  which  had  five  Windows,  there  was  a 
small  Aperture  and  Arch  between  the  third  Window  and  the 
Door,  so  constructed  as  to  make  it  probable  to  Antiquaries  of  the 
last  Century  that  the  Belies  of  S.  Nicholas  and  the  Holy  Cross 
had  been  deposited  there,  so  that  they  might  be  seen  as  well 
from  without  as  from  within  the  Church.  The  Cloisters  were  on 
the  West  side  of  the  quadrangle,  and  measured  32  feet  in  width. 
The  Buildings  on  the  other  Sides  were  14  feet  in  height,  16  feet 
in  width,  and  Vaulted.  [Orig.  Paroch,  vol.  i.,  p.  229.] 

James  Hay,  son  of  William,  Lord  Hay  of  Zester,  was  pro- 
vided to  this  Benefice  for  life,  15th  January,  1583,  then  in  the 
King's  hands  by  demission  of  Thomas  Hay,  Lord  Zester's 
brother;  and,  on  his  decease,  William  Stewart,  son  to  James 


800  MONASTICON. 

Stewart  of  Sheilinglaw,  Captain  of  the  King's  Guards,  was 
provided  llth  June,  1584.  Andrew  Hay,  nephew  to  Thomas 
Hay  of  Smithfield,  got  the  Lands  and  Crofts  lying  at  the  Cross 
Kirk  of  Peebles,  then  in  the  King's  hands,  by  the  Act  of  Annexa- 
tion, 13th  March,  1602.  [Riddle's  MS.  Notes.] 

VALUATION    OF    TRINITY    FRIARS,   PEEBLES. 

Money— £323  13s  4d. 

VIII.  DOENOCH,     A.D.  1271, 

In  Sutherland,  Founded  by  Sir  Patrick  Murray.  The  Lands 
belonging  to  the  Ministry  of  Berwick  were  given  to  this  place, 
after  the  English  had  possessed  themselves  of  that  City.  [Spot- 
tiswoode.]  Not  the  smallest  vestige  of  the  Building  can  now  be 
traced  :  the  very  Site  is  unknown. 

Some  think  that  long  before  the  Red  Friars  were  established 
here,  there  was  a  Culdee  Establishment.  Sir  James  Dalrymple 
states,  in  his  Collections,  that  he  has  inspected  a  Charter  of  King 
David  I.  to  Ronald,  Earl  of  Orkney,  from  which  it  appears  that 
David  founded  a  Monastery  long  before  this  Order  was  established 
here.  [Brockie's  MS.,  p.  8578.] 

VALUATION    OF    TRINITY   FRIARS,    DORNOCH. 

No  information. 

IX.  BERWICK-UPON-TWEED,   A.D.  1214, 

Founded  by  William  the  Lion.  Friar  Adam, 
Minister  of  the  Order  of  the  Trinity  Friars  of 
Berwick,  swears  fealty  to  King  Edward  I.  in 
A.D.  1296.  [Spottiswoode.] 

The  House  was  at  the  Bridge,  and  its  duty 

OurLorlseatedwith  T™  to  PraJ  for  the  Passengers,  and  to  profit 
his  feet  on  a  Rainbow.   *rom  their  safety.    [Wallis'  Northumberland,  vol. 

On  the  right  is  the    H.,  p.  95.] 

fcTg?**!  In  A'D-  1267'  the  Fri^s  entered  into  a 
is  the  Cross.  [Chap,  compact  with  the  Prior  of  Coldingham  about 
House,  Westminster.]  building  an  Oratory  within  the  Parish  of 


BED  FKIARS— DUNDEE.  301 

the   Holy  Trinity,  in  South  Berwick.     [Chartulary  of  Colding- 
ham,  72.] 

VALUATION    OF    TKINITY    FRIARS,    BERWICK-UPON-TWEED. 

'No  information. 

X.  DUNDEE,     A.D.  1283, 

In  the  Shire  of  Angus,  Founded  by  Sir  James  Lindsay.  His 
Charter  is  Confirmed  by  King  Robert  III.,  "  apud  Perth,  die  24 
Augusti,  anno  regni  sui  secundo,"  i.e.,  1392.  [Spottiswoode.] 

Sir  James  Scrimgeour,  Provost  of  Dundee,  the  Chief  of  a 
noble  and  ancient  Family,  brought  the  Trinity  Friars  here  about 
A.D.  1283 ;  but  George  Scrimgeour,  his  grandson,  was  the  first 
Minister.  Among  the  Benefactors,  James  Lindsay  of  Glenesk 
ought  to  be  mentioned,  who  may  be  said  to  have  been  a  second 
Founder,  as  appears  from  the  Charter  of  Robert  III.,  mentioned 
by  Spottiswoode.  We  find  among  persons  renowned  for  piety 
and  learning  resident  herein,  William  Fraser,  Bishop  of  St. 
Andrews.  Two  notorious  Alumni  of  this  Monastery  merit  enrol- 
ment, viz.,  Patrick  Lindsay  and  James  Ogilvie,  who  sailed  to  the 
Holy  Land  to  fight  the  Saracens,  under  James  Douglas,  A.D. 
1330,  and  who  Buried  the  Heart  of  Robert  the  Bruce  in  the 
Church  at  Jerusalem  (?)  While  they  were  about  to  return  to  their 
native  Country,  they  were  captured  by  the  Turks  and  Murdered, 
A.D.  1331,  as  is  taken  from  the  Tables  of  Monasteries.  \Brockie' 's 
MS.,  p.  8584.] 

The  Hospital  of  Dundee  was  Founded  several  Centuries  ago 
by  the  Earl  of  Crawford  (Sir  James  Lindsay),  who  bequeathed  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  Poor  Citizens  of  Dundee,  certain  Buildings 
upon  the  site  of  the  old  Academy  at  the  foot  of  South  Tay  Street, 
and  some  yearly  Rents  to  be  used  in  maintaining  them  as  a 
Poor-House  or  Maison-Dieu.  This  Establishment  was  afterwards 
augmented  by  Bequests  and  Donations  from  other  individuals  ; 
and  Queen  Mary,  in  1567,  granted  to  the  Hospital  of  Dundee 
the  Lands,  Tenements,  &c.,  belonging  to  the  Dominican  and 
Franciscan  Friars,  and  Grey  Sisters,  consisting  of  the  present 
Burying  Ground  and  Monastic  Buildings  to  the  South,  Serres- 
haugh,  or  Manorgan's  Croft,  now  Hospital  Ward,  part  of  the 


302  MONASTICON. 

present  Meadows  and  adjoining  Ground.  From  certain  old 
Kecords  it  would  appear  that  the  Lands  and  Eevenues  of  the 
Hospital  were  once  much  more  extensive  and  valuable  than  now. 
It  is  not  above  seventy  years  since  decayed  Burgesses  resided  in 
the  Hospital.  The  Minister  of  the  Cross  Church  officiated  to 
the  Establishment;  and  he  still  receives  part  of  his  Stipend 
from  the  Funds  of  the  Institution.  It  has  since  been  found 
more  wise  to  distribute  the  Funds  to  persons  residing  in  their 
own  Houses.  [Statistical  Account,  vol.  i.,  p.  51.] 

Sometimes  as  much  as  ^£500  were  paid  to  decayed  Burgesses. 
The  Ground  on  the  South  side  of  the  Nethergate,  extending 
from  the  Catholic  Chapel  Eastward  to  the  Sea-Wynd,  is  said  to 
have  belonged  to  the  Friars."  [Thomson's  Hist,  of  Dundee,  p.  326.] 

Kobert  III.  dissolved  the  connexion  of  the  Church  of 
Ketnes  or  Kettins  from  the  Maturine  Convent  of  Berwick,  and 
annexed  it  to  Sir  James  Lindsay's  Foundation  at  Dundee,  by  a 
Charter  cited  in  Robertson's  Index,  p.  152.  He  is  the  only 
Benefactor,  except  Sir  James,  on  record. 

VALUATION    OF    TRINITY   FRIARS,    DUNDEE. 

No  information. 

XI.  CROMARTY,  or  CRENACH,  Cir.  A.D.  1271, 
In  the  Shire  of  Cromarty.  A  Monastery  of  this  Order  was 
Founded  here  about  this  Date  by  a  noble  Baron  of  Cromarty, 
Patrick  Murray.  The  first  Administrator  was  David  Leslie,  who 
afterwards  became  Bishop  of  Orkney,  and  Sat  eleven  years. 
[None  such  is  elsewhere  mentioned.]  He  Died  1284.  Another 
Bishop  is  adduced  to  have  been  an  Inmate  here — Richard  Wyram, 
a  Doctor  of  Divinity  of  Oxford.  Pope  Boniface  VIII.  consti- 
tuted him  Provincial  Minister  of  Scotland.  He  was  Bishop  of 
Sidon,  in  Phoenicia,  but  was  obliged  to  vacate  his  See  by  the 
oppression  of  the  Saracens.  He  was  resident  in  this  Convent 
A.D.  1296.  He  Died  12  Kal.  April,  A.D.  1306,  and  was  Buried 
in  the  Cloister  of  the  Convent  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  Aberdeen. 
[BrocUe's  MS.,  p.  8574.] 

VALUATION    OF    TRINITY    FRIARS,    CROMARTY. 

No  information. 


BED  FEIAES— LOCHFEAL,  &c.  303 

XII.  LOCHFEAL,  in  the  Shire  of  Ayr. 

XIII.  BKECHIN,     A.D.  1260, 

In  the  Shire  of  Angus.  All  Tables  of  Monasteries  mention 
that  the  Convent  of  Trinity  Friars  in  this  Place  stood  between 
the  Bishop's  Residence  and  the  House  of  the  Earl  of  Pan- 
mure.  Edward,  a  Monk  of  Coupar- Angus,  Founded  this  Order 
here.  He  was  Preferred  to  the  See  of  Brechin  about  A.D. 
1260.  He,  along  with  Eustathius,  Abbot  of  Arbroath,  went  bare- 
footed through  the  Country,  Preaching  the  Gospel.  About  A.D. 
1362,  Francis  Kamsay,  of  a  noble  Family,  willing  to  lead  the 
Keligious  life,  gave  up  all  his  Possessions,  and  entered  this 
Monastery,  until  he  was  chosen  Bishop  of  Candida  Casa.  He 
Died,  and  was  Buried  there,  A.D.  1402.  [Brockie's  MS.,  p.  8580.] 

VALUATION    OF    TEINITY   FRIARS,    BRECHIN. 

No  information. 

XIV.  LUFFNESS,     A.D.  1286, 

In  the  Parish  of  Aberlady,  upon  the  Firth  of  Forth,  in  the 
Shire  of  East-Lothian.  All  the  Tables  of  Monasteries  evidence 
that  a  Convent  of  the  Order  of  the  Holy  Trinity  formerly 
existed  here,  but  they  do  not  give  the  name  of  the  Founder. 
An  anonymous  Author  states  that  A.D.  1285,  Pope  Martin  IV. 
Died  of  an  internal  disease;  and  the  following  year,  Alexander 
III.,  King  of  Scotland,  having  been  thrown  from  his  horse, 
broke  his  neck;  about  which  Period  this  Monastery  of  Red  Friars 
was  Founded  here.  The  Earl  of  Dunbar  is  said  to  have  been 
the  Founder.  Frequent  mention  is  made  thereof  in  ancient 
Charters.  The  Ruins  show  what  a  large  and  seemly  Structure 
it  was.  [Brockie's  MS.,  p.  8589.] 

VALUATION    OF    TRINITY    FRIARS,    LUFFNESS. 

No  information. 

XV.  DUNET,     A.D.  1297. 

An  Hospital  of  Trinity  Friars  was  Founded  at  this  Place,  in 
Buchan,  Aberdeenshire,  by  Alexander,  the  third  Earl  of  Buchan. 
The  name  is  given  by  Brockie  as  Dunetum,  or  Dumenum. 


804  MONASTICON. 

I  find,  in  the  Register  oj  St.  Andrews,  Eoger,  Prior  of  Dunet, 
Subscribing  a  Deed  of  King  David.  [Brockie's  MS.,  p.  8590.] 

VALUATION    OF    TRINITY    FEIARS,    DUNET. 

No  information. 

XVI.  SOLTRE,     A.D.  1164, 

In  Mid-Lothian,  10  miles  South-East  of  Edinburgh,  on  the 
Koad  that  leads  to  Kelso.  This  Hospital  was  Founded  on  the 
top  of  the  Hill  called  Soutrahill,  in  1164,  by  Malcolm  IV.,  King 
of  Scotland,  for  the  relief  of  Pilgrims  and  poor  and  sickly  people. 
There  were  some  Lands  belonging  to  this  Hospital,  near  to  St. 
Leonards,  near  Edinburgh.  Alexander  of  Soutra  is  recorded  at 
the  year  1204,  and  "  Radulphus,  magister  hospitalis  de  Soltre,"  is 
mentioned  by  Prynne  in  1292.  John  Heriot,  Vicar  of  Soutra,  is 
Witness  to  several  Charters  in  1467.  The  Ruins  of  this  Place 
are  to  be  seen  on  the  East  side  of  the  High-  way  as  you  go  from 
Edinburgh  to  Kelso  ;  and  after  you  pass  the  Burn  called  The 
Backburn  of  Soutra,  a  little  before  you  come  to  the  top  of  the 
Hill  where  the  Hospital  stood,  there  is  a  Fountain  which  was 
Dedicated  to  the  Holy  Trinity,  called  by  the  country  people  The 
farnty  Well,  much  frequented  by  sick  and  diseased  persons, 


The  following  Account  of  Soltre,  from  Father  R.  Augustin 
Hay's  "  Scotia  Sacra,"  an  unpublished  Work,  compiled  in  1700 
(MS.,  Advocates'  Library,  Edinburgh,  p.  675),  may  be  quoted 
as  furnishing  some  minute  particulars  regarding  the  Hospital  and 
its  locality,  which  are  not  elsewhere  to  be  met  with  :— 

Soltria,  Sowtry  in  Lothian,  ane  Hospital  erect  for  the  relief  of  Pilgrims 
and  poor  or  sickly  people,  upon  Soltry  Hills,  by  Malcolm  the  4th,  anno 
1164.  It  is  built  12  [about  17]  miles  besouth  Edinburgh,  on  the  Eoad  that 
leadeth  to  Kelso.  Alexander  of  Soutra  is  mentioned  in  1204.  Master 
John  Hyriotte,  Vicar  of  Soutra,  is  Witness  to  some  Charters  in  1467. 
The  present  Laird  of  Sowtry  is  nam'd  Pringle.  His  Kesidence  is  att 
Meusdenhead,  a  mile  distant  from  the  Hill.  His  Buriall  Place  is  in  ane 
Isle  of  the  Abbacie,  which  is  now  decay'd  —  the  Kuins  only  being  con- 
spicuous. The  Hospitall  stood  on  the  East  of  the  Highway  as  you  come 
from  Edinburgh  for  Kelso;  on  the  West  there  are  att  this  day  some 
Cotter  Houses.  The  Building  appears  to  have  been  very  spacious.  About 


BED  FEIAKS— SOLTEE.  805 

the  midle  hill,  towards  Lothian,  near  to  the  Highway,  there  is  a  Fountain 
called  Ternity  Well,  or  Trinity  Well.  On  the  South  side  of  the  Hill,  att 
the  foot,  there  is  a  small  Brook,  which  divideth  Lothian  from  Lauderdale. 
There  is  a  Village,  likewise,  distant  from  the  Monastery  about  a  mile  and  a 
half,  nam'd  Sowtry ;  it  is  probable  it  belonged  of  old  to  the  Hospitall. 

In  former  times  one  of  the  chief  Thoroughfares  from  the 
South  led  over  Soltre  or  Soutra  Hill,  on  the  Western  Boundary 
of  the  County  of  Haddington.  This  Hill,  about  17  miles  from 
Edinburgh,  is  the  highest  elevation  to  the  West  of  that  Ridge  or 
Chain  of  Mountains  known  as  the  Lammermuir  Hills,  separating 
Lothian  from  Lauderdale.  It  is  a  dreary  part  of  the  Country, 
surrounded  by  bleak  Moorlands,  and  used  to  afford  only  scanty 
Pasture  for  Sheep,  until  the  modern  improvements  in  Agriculture 
have  brought  some  considerable  tracts  under  cultivation.  Near 
the  summit  of  the  Hill,  or  1184  feet  above  the  level  of  the  Sea, 
was  the  Site  of  the  ancient  Hospital  and  Church  of  Soltre.  This 
Hospital,  Dedicated  to  the  Holy  Trinity,  was  one  of  those 
Religious  Establishments! of  which  a  considerable  number  existed 
in  different  parts  of  the  Kingdom  during  the  Middle  Ages,  having 
been  Erected  and  Endowed  not  only  for  stated  Religious  Service, 
but  for  the  benevolent  purpose  of  maintaining  a  certain  number 
of  Indigent  and  Infirm  persons  in  the  surrounding  District,  and  of 
receiving,  for  a  limited  period,  Pilgrims  and  other  Travellers. 

The  Hospital  of  Soltre  is  usually  said  to  have  been  Founded 
by  King  Malcolm  IV.  in  1164.  For  this  statement,  the  oldest 
Authority  seems  to  be  the  Continuator  of  Fordun's  "  Scotichroni- 
con,"  who  wrote  about  the  middle  of  the  Fifteenth  Century.  His 
words  are — "  Anno  1164,  de  concilio  Walthevi  abbatis  de  Melros, 
rex  Malcolmus  fundavit  nobile  monasterium  de  Cupro  in  Angus, 
et  ante  hoc  COENOBIUM  DE  SOLTREY,  ad  viatores  hospitandos." 
But  King  Malcolm's  Charter,  which  contains  a  Grant  of  the 
Lands  of  Brotherstanes,  extending  to  Lynden  on  the  Road  to 
Roxburghe,  has  no  Date,  and  makes  no  allusion  to  the  Hospital 
as  having  been  newly  Founded.  The  period  of  his  Reign,  how- 
ever, was  from  May,  1153,  to  December,  1165.  Tradition  is 
also  favourable  to  his  claims  as  Founder,  as  it  is  alleged  he  con- 
ferred on  Soltre  the  Privilege  of  a  Sanctuary.  A  Road  through 

VOL.  I.  2  Q 


806  MONASTICON. 

Lauderdale  (a  name  given  to  the  Western  part  of  the  County  of 
Berwick)  leading  towards  Soltre,  was  known  as  Malcolm's  Euad, 
and  traces  of  it  are  said  to  be  still  visible ;  while  another  Eoad  or 
Causeway  through  the  Moors  towards  Melrose  acquired  the  name 
of  the  Girthgate — girth  signifying  "  an  Asylum  or  Sanctuary," 
and  gate,  "  a  Road."  The  Cross-chain-hill  is  a  small  eminence 
or  rising  ground  about  half  a  mile  to  the  South  of  the  Hospital. 
It  would  appear  that  along  this  Hill,  and  across  the  Girthgate, 
there  had  been  a  Chain,  suspended  for  a  considerable  way  in  the 
direction  of  East  and  West,  to  mark  the  Boundaries  of  the 
Privileged  Ground. 

King  Malcolm's  Grant  of  the  Lands  of  Brotherstanes  was 
renewed  and  Confirmed,  with  extended  Privileges,  by  his  brother, 
William  the  Lion ;  while  Alexander  III.  Confirms  an  unrecorded 
Grant  made  by  his  father,  Alexander  II.,  of  Half  a  Chalder  of 
Oatmeal  from  the  Mill  of  Peebles.  The  series  of  Charters, 
Printed  by  the  Bannatyne  Club,  records  various  other  Benefactors 
during  the  Twelfth,  Thirteenth,  and  Fourteenth  Centuries. 

William,  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews  (1211-1226),  Confirms  to 
the  Master  and  Brethren  of  Soltre,  the  Church  of  S.  Giles,  at 
Ormiston,  in  East  Lothian,  with  its  Kevenue,  to  their  proper  use ; 
and  likewise  the  Church  of  Strathmartin,  in  Forfarshire.  The 
Churches  of  Lympetlaw  and  of  Wemyss  were  assigned  by 
Kichard  Germyne  of  Lympetlaw  and  John  of  Methkill.  Among 
other  Feudal  Barons  or  neighbouring  Landowners,  Bequests  were 
made  by  David  Olyfard,  Richard,  son  of  Michael  of  Paistoun, 
Thomas  of  Cranstoun,  Duncan  of  Swanystoun,  and  Mariot,  his 
spouse,  Walter  of  Soltre,  a  Burgess  of  Berwick,  and  John,  the 
Marischal  of  Keith.  It  is  interesting  also  to  find  among  these 
Benefactors  in  1294,  a  name  of  peculiar  interest  in  the  Literary 
History  of  Scotland,  Thomas  of  Ercildoun,  son  and  Heir  of 
Thomas  Rymour  of  Ercildoun,  the  celebrated  Scottish  Poet, 
familiarly  known  as  "  Thomas  the  Rhymer." 

The  Original  Chartulary  is  a  very  small  Folio  of  27  Leaves 
of  Vellum,  the  last  Leaf  much  mutilated.  It  belongs  to  the 
Faculty  of  Advocates.  "Newton's  Transcript,"  which  remains 
among  the  Records  of  the  City  of  Edinburgh,  is  a  square  Folio 


KED  FBIAKS— SOLTEE.  807 

of  17  Leaves  of  Vellum,  each  Page  being  attested  by  him  in  his 
Official  capacity  as  a  Notary.  None  of  the  Original  Charters 
have  been  preserved. 

In  the  .Register  of  Ministers,  1567,  William  Frank  appears  as 
Minister  of  the  united  Parishes  of  Sowtra,  Fawlaw,  and  Keith- 
humbye,  with  a  Stipend  of  ,£30  (Scots),  and  the  Vicarage  Teinds 
of  Keithhumbye.  In  1574,  the  two  former  places  were  joined  to 
Creichtoun,  of  which  Adam  Johnestoun  was  Minister,  with  the 
aid  of  three  Headers.  The  Header  at  Soutra  had  an  Allowance 
of  20  Merks,  with  the  Kirk-Land,  or  Glebe.  In  1589,  a  separa- 
tion from  Creichtoun  took  place,  and  the  Parishes  of  Fala  and 
Soutra,  although  in  different  Counties,  were  again  united  under 
one  Minister.  [Soutra  is  in  East  Lothian,  or  the  County  of  Had- 
dington ;  Fala  in  Mid-Lothian,  or  the  County  of  Edinburgh,  and 
in  the  Presbytery  of  Dalkeith.]  This  arrangement  has  continued 
to  the  present  time,  Fala  becoming  the  Parish  Church,  and 
Soutra  existing  only  in  name,  or  in  a  few  scattered  houses — 
the  Population  of  the  two  united  Parishes,  according  to  the 
Census  in  1851,  being  only  434;  the  Kental,  however,  having 
greatly  increased. 

The  Hospital  at  Soltre  had  a  Ploughgate,  called  Futhe- 
wetheris,  at  Wedale  Ford,  in  Childenchirch,  for  the  Tithes  of 
which  the  Canons  of  Dryburgh  agreed  to  accept  a  Pound  of 
Pepper  and  a  Pound  of  Cumin,  annually,  at  Roxburgh  Fair,  as 
long  as  it  should  be  cultivated  for  the  proper  use  of  the  Hospital. 

Upon  the  Annexation  of  Soltre  and  its  Possessions  by  Mary  of 
Gueldres  to  the  Foundation  of  the  Trinity  College  in  1462,  its 
connexion  with  St.  Andrews  was  dissolved,  and  it  was  restored 
by  Papal  authority  to  its  former  state  as  an  Hospital  and  Parish 
Church,  under  the  charge  of  a  Vicar,  who  was  appointed  by  the 
Provost  of  the  new  Institution. 

The  following  Chaplains,  of  the  Chaplainry  of  the  Altar  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin  Mary  below  the  Parochial  Church  of  Soltra,  occur 
in  the  Charters: — Thomas  Cairnis,  John  Fildar,  Edward  Ked. 
The  following  Beadmen  and  Hospitallers  also  occur  : — Alexander 
Anderson,  Robert  Hecquat,  William  Smyth,  Ptobert  Watson. 
Vicars,  Pensioners  of  Soltra — Thomas  Bathcat,  John  Greif. 


808  MONASTICON. 

Another  change  befell  Soltre  after  the  "  Keformation."  When 
Trinity  College  Church  and  Hospital  and  its  Revenues  were 
transferred  to  the  Provost,  Magistrates,  and  Council  of  Edin- 
burgh, Soutra,  as  it  was  then  called,  having  ceased  to  be 
maintained  as  a  distinct  Parish  Church,  the  Place  speedily  lost 
its  importance,  and  the  Buildings  fell  into  ruins.  About  10  or 
12  years  ago,  every  Vestige  of  the  Walls  and  Foundation  had 
been  dug  up  and  carted  away  for  building  Dykes  and  Farm- 
Steadings  in  the  neighbourhood.  Such  has  too  often  been  the 
fate  of  many  of  our  old  Ecclesiastical  Buildings  when  in  Euins, 
and  standing  in  isolated  positions ;  the  Proprietors  being 
ignorant  or  indifferent  for  their  preservation,  and  the  Tenants 
glad  to  avail  themselves  of  such  an  easy  mode  of  obtaining 
building  materials.  There  still,  however,  exists  a  small  Aisle  of 
the  Church,  converted  into  a  Burying  Vault,  which  had  a  narrow 


SOLTRE  AISLE. 


escape,  as  portions  of  the  Wall  had  actually  been  taken  down, 
when  its  Proprietor  interfered,  and  caused  it  to  be  restored.  It 
formerly  belonged  to  the  Pringles  of  Beatman's  Acre,  a  piece  of 
Land  adjoining,  bestowed,  it  is  said,  by  James  V.,  in  considera- 
tion of  a  night's  hospitality  which  he  had  received. 

A  Monumental  Stone  to  some  of  the  Family,  of  a  late  Date, 
is  built  into  the  Gable  of  this  Aisle;  and  over  the  Entrance  a 
large  Stone  or  Lintel,  with  the  Date  and  Initials, 
16.         D.  P.        A.  E.         86., 

marks,  no  doubt,  the  year  in  which  this  portion  of  the  old  Church 
was  so  appropriated. 


BED  FRIARS— SOLTKE.  809 

Mention  is  made  in  the  various  Notices  of  Soutra  of  a 
Fountain  of  excellent  water  Dedicated  to  the  Holy  Trinity,  anji 
vulgarly  called  the  Tarnity  Well.  This  Well,  we  are  told,  was 
formerly  much  celebrated  and  frequented  by  sick  and  diseased 
persons.  It  has  also  disappeared — the  ground  being  under 
tillage,  and  the  water  carried  off  by  means  of  tile -drains. 

The  Aisle  above-mentioned,  which  rises  near  the  top  of 
the  Hill,  now  serves  as  a  solitary  Beacon  or  Landmark  to  denote 
the  Site  of  the  ancient  Hospital  and  Church  of  Soltre,  which,  for 
many  an  age  before  Poor-Houses  and  Infirmaries  existed,  had 
continued  to  minister  relief  to  the  Sick  and  Destitute ;  while,  in 
such  a  sterile  locality,  it  could  not  but  prove  a  welcome  Place  of 
Kefuge  for  the  weary  Pilgrim.  [Beg.  Domus  de  Soltre,  Edited 
by  David  Laing,  LL.D.  Bannatyne  Club.] 

In  Bagman's  Boll  occurs  ' '  Frere  Thomas,  Ministrie  de  la 
meron  de  la  Trinite  de  Soltre  del  counte  de  Edenburgh."  About 
1488,  we  find  John  Heriot,  Vicar  of  Soutra,  Subscribing  various 
Charters.  [Brockie's  MS.,  p.  8581.] 

The  Hospital  of  Soltre  was  under  the  Government  of  a 
Superior,  called  Magister.  It  is  not  possible  to  furnish  a  complete 
List  of  the  Masters,  but  some  of  their  Names  have  been  recorded. 

LIST    OF    MASTEES. 

1.  Sir  REGINALD  and  Sir  WILLIAM  OF  SOLTKE,  Chaplains,  appear  as  Wit- 
nesses in  a  Charter  of  the  end  of  the  Twelfth  Century. 

ANDKEW  OF  SOLTRE,  and  various  other  Chaplains,  occur  at  a  later  Period. 
In  1271,  an  Inquisition  was  made  regarding  a  Dispute  between  the  Master 
and  Brethren  of  Soltre  and  the  Inhabitants  of  Crailing,  in  Roxburghshire, 
regarding  a  claim  for  "a  Thrave  of  Corn  in  Harvest  out  of  every  Plough- 
gate  of  the  Manor."  The  Cause  was  determined  by  an  Assize,  consisting 
of  a  Suitor  (Sectator),  and  four  persons  out  of  each  of  the  three  contiguous 
Manors  of  Eckford,  Upper  Crailing,  and  of  Hetoun,  who,  under  the  title  of 
antiquiores  patrice,  decided  in  favour  of  Soltre. 

2.  RADULPHUS,  Magister  Hospitalis  de  Soltre,  is  named  in  Charter  No. 
48,  Register  Domus  de  Soultre.     He  swore  fealty  to  Edward  the  First  in  the 
Chapel  of  Edinburgh  Castle,  29th  July,  1291. 

3.  THOMAS,  Master  of  the  Trinity  Hospital  of  Soltre,  four  years  later, 
did  homage  to  the  English  Monarch  at  Berwick,  28th  August,  1296  ;  and  in 
return,  the  said  Thomas  obtained  Precepts  to  several  Sheriffs  to  restore  the 
Estates  and  Rights  of  the  Hospital. 


810  MONASTICON. 

After  an  interval  of  a  Century,  the  next  Master  we  meet 

with  was 

• 

4.  THOMAS  or  ALDTON,  on  the  7th  of  April,  1401,  and  again  in  October, 
1410. 

5.  STEPHEN  FLEMYNG  appears  as  Master  of  the  Hospital  of  Soltre,  4th 
of  March,  1426-7. 

6.  THOMAS  LAWDEK  occurs  in  the  Charters  as  Master  of  the  Hospital, 
8th  of  January,  1437-8.     Thomas  de  Lawedre,  designed  as  Magister  Domus 
Hospitalis  de  Soltre,  appears  in  Charters  of  the  Dates,  llth  April,  1439, 
2nd  March,  1439-40,  and  12th  November,  1440.     In  the  Kegister  of  the 
Great  Seal,  there  is  also  recorded  the  Litera  Provisionis  Magistro  Thomae 
de  Lawdre  ad  Episcopatum  ecclesie  Dunkeldensis  cum  omnibus  juribus  ad 
illam  spectantibus.     (Lib.  iv.,  No.  295.)     20th  June,  1452.— In  1444,  he 
Founded  a  Chaplainry  at  the  Altar  of  SS.  Martin  and  Thomas,  in  the  Holy 
Cross  Aisle  of  S.  Giles'  Church,  Edinburgh  ;  and  this  Endowment  was  Con- 
firmed by  Eoyal  Charter  in  1450.     Lawder  was,  in  1452,  Promoted  to  the 
See  of  Dunkeld,  as  a  reward  for  his  services  as  Preceptor  to  King  James  the 
Second:  he  was  then  aged  about  60.     Abbot  My  In,  in  his  "Lives  of  the 
Bishops  of  Dunkeld,"  who  passes  a  high  eulogium  on  Lawder  as  a  person  of 
great  ability  and  piety,  states  that  he  was  the  first  to  introduce  the  custom 
of  Preaching  in  his  Diocese.     Feeling  the  effects  of  advanced  age,  in  1476 
Lawder  resigned  the  See  in  favour  of  the  Dean,  James  Livingston,  but  he 
survived  till  November,  1481 ;  and  Myln  has  recorded  the  Inscription  on  his 
Tomb,  in  the  Cathedral  Church  of  Dunkeld.     It  is  probable  that  Lawder 
had  Kesigned  his  Mastership  on  the  occasion  of  his  being  appointed  Bishop 
in  1452,  as  we  find 

7.  ALAN  CANT  styled  Kector  of  the  Hospital,   and  Chancellor  of  the 
Church  of  St.  Andrews,  apparently  between  1453  and  1455. 

This  designation  renders  it  necessary  to  explain  that  Soltre  Hospital 
was,  by  authority  of  Pope  Nicholas  V.,  annexed  to  the  Church  of  St. 
Andrews,  as  the  Benefice  of  the  Chancellor,  with  the  consent  of  Alan  Cant, 
who  then  became  Chancellor.  Cant  had  pursued  his  studies  at  the 
University  of  St.  Andrews,  where  he  became  a  Bachelor  of  Arts  in  1426, 
and  a  Licentiate  in  1430.  In  1460,  we  find  that  he  was  deceased,  and  that 
his  Successor  was 

8.  JOHN  TYEY,  Bachelor  of  Decrees.     In  1479,  John  Tyry  was  one  of 
the  Masters  elected  as  Assistants  to  the  Kector  of  the  University  of  St. 
Andrews. 

VALUATION    OF    TRINITY    FRIARS,    SOLTRE. 

In  the  Papal  Taxation  of  Churches  and  Monasteries  in  Scotland  at  the 
end  of  the  Thirteenth  Century,  is  the  following  Valuation  of  Soltre: — 
Ecclesia  ejusdem  c  s.  Cultura  ejusdem  vj  li.  xiij  s.  iiij  d.  Firma  ejusdem 


WHITE  FEIABS.  811 

citra  mare  et  ultra  xv  li.  xv  s.  vij  d.  Bona  Mobilia  ejusdem  Ixvij  s.  Lana 
et  agri  ejusdem  x  li.  ix  s.  Ecclesia  de  Ormestone  x  li.  Summa  LJ  li.  iiij  s. 
xj  d. — Decima  cij  s.  v  d.  ob.  qta. 

Spottiswoode  says  there  were  Thirteen  Houses  of  the  Eed 
Friars  in  Scotland :  I  have  found  out  three  more,  making 
Sixteen. 


THE   PREMONSTRATENSES. 

THE  Premonstratenses  were  so  named  from  their  principal 
Monastery  "  Praemonstratum,"  in  the  Diocese  of  Laon  in  France, 
which  the  Monks  of  this  Order  pretend  was  so  called  from  its 
being  "Divina  revelatione  Praemonstratum."  This  Order  is 
also  called  Cajididus  Or  do,  because  their  garb  is  entirely  White. 
They  followed  the  Rule  of  S.  Augustine,  which,  they  say,  was 
delivered  to  them  in  golden  letters,  from  himself,  in  a  Vision ; 
and  were  Founded  by  S.  Norbert,  a  German  Archbishop  of 
Magdeburgh,  who  obtained  for  himself  and  Successors  in  that  See 
the  "  Title  of  Primate  of  Germany."  His  Order  was  Confirmed 
by  Popes  Honorius  II.  and  Innocent  III.  He  retired  with  some 
companions  about  the  year  1120.  [Spottisivoode.] 

Norbert  was  Born  of  a  very  great  Family,  in  the  Country  of 
Cleves,  where  his  father  was  Earl  of  Gennap.  He  begun  the 
establishment  of  this  Order  in  1120,  at  a  place  which  hath  been 
called  since  Premontre,  in  the  Bishopric  of  Laon,  framing  a 
mixture  of  a  Monastical  and  Canonical  Life.  He  followed 
chiefly  the  Rule  of  S.  Austin  ;  and  his  Order  was  Confirmed  by 
Popes  Honore  II.  and  Innocent  III.  He  was  made  after- 
wards Archbishop  of  Magdbourg,  and  obtained  for  that  See  the 
Title  of  Primate  of  Germany.  The  Monks  of  Premontre  pub- 
lished, after  the  Death  of  their  Founder,  that  he  had  received 
his  Rule,  curiously  bound  in  gold,  from  the  hand  of  S.  Austin 
himself,  who  appeared  to  him  one  night,  and  said  thus  to  him 
— "  Here  is  the  Rule  which  I  have  written,  and  if  thy  Brethren 
do  observe  it,  they,  like  my  Children,  need  to  fear  nothing  at 
all  in  the  Day  of  Judgment."  These  added  moreover,  that  an 


812  MONASTICON. 

Angel  showed  to  him  a  Meadow,  where  he  was  to  build  his  first 
Monastery,  which  from  thence  was  called  Pre  Montre,  that  is, 
"  The  Showed  Meadow."  Their  Order  spread  itself  into  Syria, 
Normandy,  Flanders,  England,  Spain,  and  other  Countries.  They 
wear  a  White  Cassock  and  a  Kochet  over  it,  with  a  long  White 
Cloak.  Pope  Honorius  IV.  having  granted  to  the  Fathers  Car- 
melites the  use  of  a  White  Plaited  Cloak,  those  of  Premontre 
complained  of  it  as  of  a  great  scandal  and  wrong  done  to  them. 
This,  notwithstanding,  the  Carmelites  carried  in  spite  of  their 
teeth  ;  and,  under  pretences  of  several  Apparitions  of  the  Virgin 
Mary,  kept  their  long  White  Cloaks.  The  Abbots  of  several  Orders, 
and  particularly  those  of  S.  Benet,  having  obtained  the  Pope's 
permission  to  Officiate  in  Pontificalibus,  with  the  Mitre,  the 
Crozier  Staff,  and  the  Ring,  as  the  "  Popish"  Bishops  do,  the 
Abbots  of  the  Order  of  Premontre  refused  to  make  use  of  these 
"  marks  of  vanity."  They  agreed  together,  in  case  any  of  them 
were  raised  to  the  dignity  of  a  Cardinal,  or  to  the  Popedom 
itself,  never  to  leave  their  Religious  Habit,  and  that  none  of 
them  should  accept  of  any  Dignity  or  Degree  whatsoever  without 
.  having  first  the  License  of  their  General  Chapter.  They  made 
several  other  Regulations,  which  they  joined  to  the  Rule  of  S. 
Austin.  This  Order  had,  moreover,  this  peculiar  to  it,  that 
wherever  they  Founded  a  Monastery  for  Men,  they  had  the 
cunning  to  build  another  for  Women  next  to  it.  But  the 
infamous  Correspondencies  which  they  kept  with  them,  and  the 
great  scandals  that  arose  from  thence,  moved  Conradus,  Prior  of 
Martello,  a  very  honest  Gentleman,  to  use  his  utmost  endeavours 
for  the  Suppressing  of  those  Female  Monasteries.  They  made 
then  a  Declaration  in  1273,  by  which,  after  having  acknowledged 
that  the  Women  were  worse  than  the  most  venomous  Aspicks 
and  Dragons,  and  that  there  was  no  malice  comparable  to  theirs, 
they  resolved  thenceforward  not  to  look  upon  them,  but  as  upon 
so  many  mischievous  beasts,  and  declared  they  would  have  no 
more  to  do  with  them. 

Robert,  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  in  England,  having  undertaken 
to  bring  the  same  Reformation  into  the  Monasteries  of  Premontre 
in  his  Diocese,  wrote  concerning  it  to  Innocentius  IV.;  but 


WHITE  FBIABS— SOULSEAT.  818 

this  Pope,  bribed  with  great  sums  of  Money  by  the  Monks,  would 
not  consent  to  it.  The  Bishop  made  bold  to  write  to  him  a 
second  time,  and  had  for  answer — "  Brother,  thou  hast  dis- 
charged thy  Conscience;  why  art  thou  angry  at  my  condescen- 
sion ?  I  have  pardoned  them :  is  thy  eye  bad  because  I  am 
good  ?"  This  was  a  neat  application  of  the  Holy  Scripture ! 
These  Monks  of  Premontre  did  not  apply  their  minds  to  study  at 
the  beginning  of  their  Institution,  and  therefore  were  tossed 
about  by  the  other  Monks  as  ignorant  Friars  ;  but  now  they  have 
established  Schools  amongst  them.  [Emillianne,  p.  130.] 

There  were  of  this  Order  six  Monasteries  in  Scotland,  at  the 
following  Places,  viz., 

I.  SOULSEAT,     A.D.  1148, 

Called  Sedes  Animarum,  or  Monasterium  viridis  stagni,  as  it 
was  situate  in  the  bosom  of  a  small  Lake,  in  the  form  of  a 
crescent,  in  Galloway,  near  Stranraer.  S.  Malachias  [Archbishop 
of  Armagh]  is  said  to  have  Founded  here  the  first  Community ; 
which  is  surely  a  mistake,  for  it  is  certain  that  the  first  Religious  of 
this  Order  were  brought  here  directly  from  Praemontre  in  France, 
as  Johannes  le  Page  relates,  in  his  Biblioth.  Praemonst.  lib.  i.,  p. 
333.  It  was  the  mother  of  Holywood  and  Whitehorn,  and  was 
Founded  by  Fergus,  Lord  of  Galloway,  who  became  a  Canon- 
Eegular  in  the  Abbacy  of  Holyroodhouse,  in  A.D.  1160,  after  he 
had  Founded  several  Abbeys  and  Religious  Places,  and  endowed 
them  with  considerable  Revenues  for  the  subsistence  of  the 
Canons  or  Monks,  whom  he  brought  home  and  settled  in  Gallo- 
way. [Spottiswoode.] 

Some  have  attributed  the  name  Sedes  Saulis  to  Saul,  the 
first  Abbot.  The  Church  was  Dedicated  to  S.  John  Evangelist. 

An  Act  of  Parliament,  enacted  in  1487,  against  purchasing 
Livings  at  Rome,  in  violation  of  the  King's  privilege,  specified 
Saulseat  to  be  one  of  the  Scottish  Abbeys  "  that  were  not  sold 
at  the  Court  of  Rome,"  i.e.,  the  Pope  had  no  right  to  dispose  of 
it,  the  King  having  the  Appointment,  while  the  Pope  had  only 
the  Confirmation.  In  July,  1532,  David,  Abbot  of  Saulseat,  the 
Superior,  being  about  to  execute  a  Commission  for  visiting  and 

VOL.  I.  2  E 


814  MONASTICON. 

reforming  all  the  Houses  in  Scotland  of  the  Premonstratentian 
Order,  obtained  a  Precept  from  the  King,  commanding  attention 
and  obedience  to  him  everywhere,  in  the  execution  of  the  said 
Commission.  [Privy  Seal  Reg.  ix.,  131.]  In  1568,  the  Abbot, 
with  others,  signed  a  Bond  in  pledge  that  they  would  fight  for 
Queen  Mary. 

Besides  the  Lands  and  some  other  Property,  this  Abbey  had 
only  two  Parish  Churches,  viz.,  Saulseat,  and  Kirkmaiden  in  the 
Rhins,  whose  Tithes  and  Income  formed  the  best  part  of  the 
Revenues  of  the  Abbey.  After  the  abolition  of  Religious  Houses, 
the  Revenues  of  Saulseat  were  appropriated  to  the  Parish 
Churches  of  Kirkmaiden  and  Saulseat,  and  to  the  newly- elected 
Parish  of  Port  Patrick.  The  Lands  which  at  present  constitute 
the  Parish  of  Port  Patrick,  were  formerly  called  "  The  Black 
Quarter  of  the  Inch,"  and  till  1628  formed  a  part  of  the  Parish 
of  Inch,  having  pertained  to  Soulseat.  [Acta  Parl.  F.,  132  ; 
whereby  the  very  name  and  title  of  this  Abbey  were  suppressed.] 
This  Abbey  was  in  ruins  in  1684,  when  Symson  wrote  his  History 
of  Galloway.  Only  a  few  of  the  remains  are  now  visible.  Part 
of  the  Burying- Ground  still  remains,  having  some  curious  Grave- 
Stones,  and  is  occasionally  used.  [New  Stat.  Ace.  Scot.] 

Saulseat  Loch,  on  the  peninsular  recess  of  which  stood  the 
Abbey,  is  contiguous  to  the  Railway,  3  miles  South-East  of 
Stranraer.  It  is  a  beautiful  sheet  of  water,  of  a  horse-shoe  form, 
nearly  a  mile  long,  and  finely  adorned  with  wood. 

King  James  IV.  grants  a  Charter  to  this  Abbey,  of  the  Croft, 
called  The  Virgin  Mary,  in  the  Parish  of  Kirkmaiden,  on  the 
resignation  of  Nevin  Agnew  of  Creith,  16th  June,  1493.  G.S.B. 
13,  No.  75. — Mr.  John  Kennedy,  Apparant  of  Balterson,  is 
provided  to  this  Abbey  during  all  the  days  of  his  life,  25th 
October,  1598.  G.S.B.  41,  No.  452.— William  Adair,  Apparant 
of  Rinhilt,  is  provided  to  this  Abbey,  3rd  September,  1606. 
G.S.B.  43,  No.  39.  [Riddle's  MS.  Notes.] 

The  last  Abbot  of  the  Monastery  of  Sausede  was  John  John- 
ston, as  appears  from  a  Letter  to  Cardinal  David  Beaton  from 
Mary,  Queen  of  Scotland,  at  Edinburgh,  Pridie  Kal.  Maii,  1545. 
—Quintin  was  Abbot  here  A.D.  1524.— Nicholas  Gordon  was 


WHITE  FKIAKS— HOLYWOOD.  815 

Translated  from  this  Monastery  to  be  Abbot  of  Tungland.  He 
wrote  a  Book  of  Synodal  Decrees,  and  a  Collection  of  Canons 
and  Constitutions.  He  was  Vicar- General  of  the  Diocese  of 
Dunkeld  A.D.  1334.  [Brockie's  MS.,  p.  8349.] 

VALUATION    OF   WHITE    FRIARS,    SOULSEAT,    IN    1562. 

Money— £343  13s  U  (Scots).  Meal— 13  Chalders,  4  Bolls,  2  Firlots,  2 
Pecks;  Bear — 7  Chalders,  8  Bolls;  Capons — 18£  Dozen;  One  Pound  of 
Wax  for  Altar.  A  subsequent  Kental  added  6  Chalders  of  Oats. 

II.  HOLYWOOD,     A.D.  1180, 

Four  miles  from  Dumfries,  called  in  Latin  Monasterium  sacri 
nemoris,  "  the  Monastery  of  the  Sacred  Grove,"  and,  in  the  Pope's 
Bulls,  Dercongall,  "  the  Oakwood  of  Congal ;"  for  Pope  Honorius 
III.,  in  his  Bull,  "datum  Keate,  15  Kalend.  Januarii,  Pontificat. 
sui  anno  decimo,  super  controversia  inter  Walterum  Glasguens. 
episcop.  et  Wilhelmum  Paisletens.  abbat.,"  addresses  the  Bull, 
"Abbati  de  Dercongall,  Glasguens.  Dioces."  Dungald,  "abbe 
de  Saint  Boyse  "  (according  to  Prynne,  vol.  Hi.,  p.  653),  swears 
fealty  to  Edward  I.  of  England,  anno  1296.  Johannes  de  Sacro 
Bosco,  "  John  of  the  Holy  Bush,"  who  is  famous 
for  his  Astronomical  BookZte  Splicer  a,  "On  the 
Sphere,"  is  thought  by  several  people  of  learning 
to  have  been  a  professed  Keligious  of  this  Place. 
[Spottistvoode.] 

John,  Lord  of  Kirkconnel,  who  was  of  the 
Family  of  Maxwell,  is  said  by  Dugdale,  in  his 
Monasticon,  vol.  ii.,  p.  1057,  to  have  Founded 
this  Ancient  House  of  Der-Congal  or  Holywood, 
which  must  have  been  before   the  demise   of 
David   I.     Some  suppose    that   Devergilla  or       Chapter  House, 
Donagilla,  daughter  of  Alan,  Lord  of  Galloway,         Westminster. 
was  the  Foundress.     She  was  the  wife  of  John  Baliol,  Lord  of 
Barnard  Castle,  and  mother  of  John  Baliol,  declared  King  of  the 
Scots  by  the  decision  of  Edward  I.,  17th  November,  1292. 

The  Abbot  of  Dercongal  sat  in  the  Great  Parliament  at  Brig- 
ham  in  March,  1290.  [Rymer,  vol.  ii.,  p.  471.]  Dungal,  the  Abbot 


816  MONASTICON. 

de  Sacrobosco,  with  his  Monks,  swore  fealty  to  Edward  I.  at 
Berwick,  in  August,  1296.  [Prynne,  vol.  Hi.,  p.  653,  who 
blunders  the  name  to  Saint  Boijse.]  Edward  immediately  issued 
a  Writ  to  his  Sheriff  of  Dumfriesshire  to  restore  the  property  of 
"Dungal,  Abbas  de  Sacro  Nemore."  [Eymer,  vol.  ii.,  p.  72.] 
In  May,  1365,  David  II.  granted  a  Protection  and  certain  Privi- 
leges to  the  Abbot  and  Convent  "  de  Sacro  Nemore."  [Regist. 
Mag.  Sig.j  128.]  Archibald  Douglas  was  Abbot  of  Holywood  in 
1493.  [Ada  Auditorum,  p.  175.] 

In  1527,  William,  Bishop  of  Glasgow,  decided  a  Controversy 
between  the  Monks  of  Melrose  and  the  Monks 
of  Dercongal,  with  regard  to  the  Church  and 
Tithes  of  Dunscore.  [Cart.  Melros.] 

Thomas  Campbell,  the  last  Abbot  of  Holy- 
wood,  was  prosecuted  by  the  Kegent  Murray  for 
assisting  Queen  Mary  after  her  escape  from 
Lochleven,  and  he  was  forfeited  on  the  19th 
August,  1568. 

The  Monks  of  Holywood  possessed  many 
Chapter  House,  Lands  in  Nithsdale  and  East  Galloway,  and 
Westminster.  they  enjoyed  a  jurisdiction  over  the  whole. 
The  Maxwell  Family  acquired  the  Office  of  Bailie  to  the  Abbot, 
whom  they  protected ;  and  they  obtained  the  six  Merk-Lands  of 
Baltersan,  with  the  three  Merk-Lands  of  Gleneslau,  as  a  Fee  for 
executing  this  Office,  which  continued  hereditary  till  the  abolition 
of  such  Jurisdictions  in  1748. 

What  remained  of  the  property  of  this  Monastery,  after  much 
waste,  was  vested  in  the  King,  by  the  General  Annexation  Act, 
in  1587.  In  1617,  an  Act  of  Parliament  was  passed,  dissolving 
the  said  Annexation  as  to  the  whole  Temporal  Property  of  the 
Abbey  of  Holywood,  and  the  Spiritual  Property  of  the  same, 
consisting  of  the  Parish  Churches  of  Holywood,  Dunscore,  Pen- 
pont,  Tynron,  and  Kirkconnel — Parsonages  and  Vicarages,  with 
their  Tithes  and  Kevenues ;  all  in  order  that  the  King  might 
grant  the  whole  to  John  Murray  of  Lochmaben,  and  his  Heirs, 
and  might  erect  the  same  into  a  free  Barony,  to  be  called  The 
Barony  of  Holywood,  for  the  yearly  payment  of  J020  Scots,  in 


WHITE  FKIARS— HOLYWOOD. 


817 


name  of  "  blench  ferm."  Accordingly,  Murray  obtained  a  Charter 
of  the  whole,  which  was  ratified  in  Parliament  in  1621.  This 
Murray  had  been  about  the  King  from  his  youth,  and  was  one 
of  the  Grooms  of  the  Bed-Chamber;  and  before  this  he  had 
acquired  from  his  Sovereign  the  Barony  of  Lochmaben,  and  other 
property  in  Dumfriesshire. 

The  Abbey  of  Holywood  stood  on  the  South-East  Corner  of 
the  present  Church-yard.  It  was  in  the  form  of  a  Cross,  and  the 
Chancel  was  used  as  the  Parish  Kirk  so  late  as  1779,  when  the 
Kemains  were  appropriated  to  build  the  present  Structure.  The 
Vestiges  of  the  Abbey  may  be  still  traced  in  the  Church-yard  ; 
and  an  adjoining  Farm  has  the  honour  of  bearing  its  sacred  name. 
Two  of  the  Bells  of  the  Abbey 
still  "ring  in"  the  Protestants 
within  the '  *  Keformed  Fabric. " 
One  of  the  Bells  (by  an  In- 
scription and  Date  upon  it) 
was  Consecrated,  or  rather 
"Baptized,"  by  the  Abbot 
John  Wrich  in  1154.  [Chal- 
mers' Caledonia,  vol.  iii.j  p. 
151.] 

Mr.  John  Johnston,  Advo- 
cate, was  provided  to  this  Ab- 
bey for  life,  15th  August,  1600, 
on  the  demission  of  Sir  James 
Johnston  of  Dirnskellie. — 
G.S.B.  42,  No.  186.  [Riddle's  MS.  Notes.] 

Chalmers,  in  his  "  Caledonia,"  vol.  iii.,  p.  153,  says — "In 
the  Reign  of  Robert  I.,  his  brother,  Edward  Bruce,  the  Lord  of 
Galloway,  Founded  at  the  Abbey  of  Holywood  an  Hospital  and 
a  Chapel,  which  he  Endowed  with  some  Lands  in  Galloway. 
This  charitable  Establishment  having  been  ruined  during  the 
Succession  War,  it  was  restored  in  1372  by  Archibald  Douglas, 
"the  Grim,"  Lord  of  Galloway,  who  again  Endowed  it  with  the 
Lands  of  Crossmichael  and  Troquire,  in  Galloway.  This 
was  sanctioned  by  Walter,  Bishop  of  Glasgow,  and  Confirmed  by 


A  Bird  sitting  on  an  Acorn  of  a  Tree. — 
Appended  to  a  Lease  by  Thomas  (Campbell), 
Abbot  of  Holywood,  dated  15th  Nov.,  1557. 


318  MONASTICON. 

Eobert  II.,  on  the  2nd  June,  1372.  [Eeg.  Mag.  Sig.  Bot.,  vol. 
ii.,  p.  56.] 

There  appears  to  have  been  a  Druidical  Temple  here  even 
before  "  the  Hermit,  S.  Congal"  [Fest.  on  12th  May,  1113],  fixed 
his  Ketreat  in  the  Grove,  which  has  disappeared,  while  the  Druid 
Stones  (12  very  large  granite  or  whin  boulders)  retain  their  old 
position.  The  Circle  is  240  feet  in  diameter,  about  half  a  mile 
to  the  North- West  of  the  Parish  Church.  There  is  a  view  of 
this  Druid  Temple  in  Groses  Antiquities,  vol.  i.,  p.  169. 

In  Adam's  Kalendar,  at  12th  May,  there  occurs — "  Sanctus 
Congallus,  Abbas  de  Holy  Wood  et  Confessor  in  Scotia,  sub  rege 
Malcolmo  II.  anno  1113."  Brockie  (MS.,  p.  8488)  says  that,  in 
an  ancient  Missal  belonging  to  Father  Thomas  Primrose,  there 
was  inserted,  with  a  Pen,  a  Collect  of  or  to  S.  Congal,  Abbate 
Sacri  Bosci,  "  Abbot  of  Holy  Bush."  From  this  Confessor 
probably  originated  the  name  Kir  Connell  or  KMconnelL 

VALUATION    OF   WHITE    FEIARS,    HOLYWOOD,    IN    1544. 

Money— £700  (Scots).  Meal— 19  Chalders,  14  Bolls,  8  Firlots  ;  Bear 
—9  Chalders,  3  Bolls ;  Malt— 1  Chalder.  By  the  plunder  of  the  "  Eefor- 
mation,"  it  was  reduced  to  £425,  and  still  more  to  £395  18s  8d. 


III.  WHITHORN, 

Or  Candida  Casa,  as  the  name  was  Latinized  about  432. 
Fergus,  Lord  of  Galloway,  who  flourished  in  the  Eeign  of  King 
David  I.,  Founded  here  a  Priory  of  this  Order,  who  were  Dean 
and  Chapter  of  the  Cathedral  of  the  Diocese  of  Galloway. 
Morice,  Prior  of  this  Convent,  swore  fealty  to  Edward  Lang- 
shanks,  King  of  England,  in  1296.  This  Church  was  famous 
for  the  great  resort  of  Pilgrims,  who  flocked  thither  from  all 
parts  to  visit  S.  Ninian's  Sepulchre,  whom  they  call  commonly 
the  first  Bishop  of  Galloway.  We  had  two  famous  Priors  of  this 
Place:  the  one  called  Gavin  Dunbar  was  Prior  here  in  1514, 
and  afterwards  Archbishop  of  Glasgow;  and  the  other,  James 
Beaton,  a  son  of  the  Family  of  Balfour  in  Fife,  was  first  Arch- 
bishop of  Glasgow,  and  then  of  St.  Andrews,  and  Chancellor  of 
Scotland.  [Spottiswoode.] 


WHITE  FKIAKS— WHITHOKN.  819 

This  Keligious  House  was  Dedicated  to  S.  Martin  of  Tours, 
the  Instructor  of  S.  Ninian,  to  whom  also  had  been  Dedicated 
the  Original  Church,  by  S.  Ninian,  where  he  was  Buried.  It  is 
doubtful  whether  his  Church  stood  in  the  Town  of  Whithorn,  or 
in  the  Isle  of  Whithorn,  about  3  miles  to  the  South-East : 
the  preponderance  of  evidence  is  in  favour  of  the  latter.  It 
seems  pretty  certain  that  some  of  the  Kelics  of  S.  Ninian  were 
enshrined  in  the  Conventual  Church  of  the  Priory  Founded  in 
the  Town  of  Whithorn ;  for  in  such  veneration  were  the  name 
and  memory  of  S.  Ninian  held,  that  people  of  all  ranks  from 
every  part  of  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  performed  Pil- 
grimages here  to  his  Shrine.  These  Pilgrimages  were  so  rooted 
in  the  practice  of  the  people,  that  they  were  continued  long  after 
the  "  Reformation,"  notwithstanding  all  the  inculcations  and 
denunciations  that  the  "Preachers"  could  vociferate  anent 
"  Chapels,  Wells,  and  Crosses." 

In  Summer,  1473,  Margaret,  Queen  of  James  III.,  made  a 
Pilgrimage  to  Whithorn,  with  her  attendants,  six  Ladies  of  the 
Chamber,  who  accompanied  her,  and  who  were  furnished  with 
new  Livery  Gowns  on  that  occasion. 

A  long  Extract,  in  small  type,  is  given  in  "  Chalmers' 
Caledonia,"  vol.  iii.,  pp.  412-413,  from  the  Treasurer's  Books 
which  remain  of  James  IV. 's  Reign,  containing  Notices  of  the 
simplicity  and  manners  of  those  times.  Let  a  few  here  suffice. 

Throughout  James  IV. 's  Reign,  he  made  frequent  Pilgrimages 
to  S.  Ninian's  Shrine  at  Whithern,  generally  once  a  year,  and 
frequently  twice  a  year.  In  September,  1497,  the  King  went 
from  Edinburgh  on  a  Pilgrimage  to  Whithern.  He  took  his 
usual  route,  by  Biggar,  through  Upper  Clydesdale,  to  Durisdee  ; 
and  from  thence  across  Nithsdale  to  S.  John's  Kirk  at  Dalus  ; 
and  from  this  mountainous  Country  he  went  through  Galloway 
to  Wigton,  and  thence  to  Whithern,  giving  Offerings,  Donations, 
and  Alms.  At  Whithern,  besides  his  accustomed  Donations,  he 
gave  <£10  for  10  Trentales  of  Masses  for  the  King.  He  returned 
through  Ayrshire,  and  through  Glasgow  to  Stirling. — In  April, 
1501,  the  King  went  from  Edinburgh  on  a  Pilgrimage  to  Whit- 
hern.- In  passing  through  Kirkcudbright,  he  gave  to  the  Priests 


820  MONASTICON. 

20  Shillings,  and  to  the  Friars  of  the  same  Place,  £5  12s,  to  buy 
an  Eucharist.  He  arrived  at  Whithern  on  the  22nd  April ;  and 
on  the  same  night  he  made  his  Offerings  at  the  Town,  at  the 
Relics,  at  the  High  Altar,  at  the  Eood  Altar,  and  at  the  Chapel 
on  the  Hill — 5  French  Crowns,  i.e.,  £3  10s  Sterling.  He  gave 
a  French  Crown  (14s)  to  the  Prior's  Luter  (the  Player  on  the 
Lute).  He  returned  through  Ayr  and  Glasgow  to  Stirling.— 
April  8th,  1503.  The  King,  returning  from  Whithern,  received 
intelligence,  by  express,  when  at  Wigton,  of  his  brother's  Death, 
John,  Earl  of  Mar.  He  charged  the  Priests  of  Wigton  "  to 
perform  a  Dirge  and  Soul-Mass"  for  his  brother,  and  paid  them 
40s  for  their  pains. — May  6th,  1503.  The  King  performed 
another  Pilgrimage  to  Whithern ;  and  going  by  Dumfries,  on  the 
7th  May,  he  made  his  Offering  of  14s  in  our  Lady's  Chapel  at 
the  end  of  the  Town.  On  setting  out  from  Edinburgh,  he 
despatched  a  Courier  to  bring  the  Relic  of  S.  Ninian,  which  was 
kept  at  Stirling,  to  meet  the  King  with  it  at  Whithern. — June 
26,  1504.  The  King  was  at  Whithern,  and  he  bought  there, 
for  4s,  some  Tokens  of  S.  Ninian. — June  29.  On  his  return,  he 
met  and  gave  Alms  to  some  poor  people  from  Tain,  in  Ross- 
shire,  going  on  a  Pilgrimage  to  Whithern. — This  Pilgrim-King 
was  literally  cut  in  pieces  on  Flodden  Field,  9th  September,  1513. 
—November,  1513.  The  old  Earl  of  Angus,  "Bell  the  Cat," 
who  left  two  of  his  sons  on  Flodden  Field,  made  a  Pilgrimage  to 
Whithern. — James  V.,  after  he  arrived  at  manhood,  appears  also 
from  the  Treasurer's  Accounts  to  have  made  several  Pilgrimages 
to  Whithern  in  1532  and  1533. 

Long  before  the  time  of  Symsoris  Galloway,  the  ample 
Buildings  of  this  Priory  had  been  allowed  to  fall  into  ruins.  In 
1684,  the  Steeple  and  the  Name  were  then  standing  :  the  Aisles, 
the  Cross  Church,  and  the  several  other  Buildings  belonging  to 
the  Priory  had  fallen.  A  Century  afterwards,  nothing  more 
remained  but  the  Ruins  of  one  of  the  Churches ;  and  the  only 
part  that  continued  standing  were  four  Gothic  Arches,  which 
forms  a  part  of  the  present  Kirk,  that  stands  upon  the  high 
ground  on  the  West  side  of  the  Town  of  Whithorn. 

The  whole  Property  of  this  Priory  was  vested  in  the  King  by 


WHITE  FEIAES— DKYBUKGH.  321 

the  General  Annexation  Act  in  1587;  and  it  was  afterwards 
Granted  by  King  James  to  the  Bishop  of  Galloway  in  1606, 
when  it  was  annexed  to  the  Kevenues  of  that  See.  It  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  University  of  Glasgow  in  1641,  but  was  restored  to 
the  Bishop  of  Galloway  in  1661 ;  and  it  continued  to  belong  to 
that  See  till  the  final  abolition  of  Episcopacy  in  1689. 

PRIORS    OF   WHITHORN. 

1.  CHRISTIANUS,  afterwards  Bishop  of  the  See,  A.D.  1154.    [Richard  Hay.] 

2.  MAURICE  swore  fealty  to  Edward  I.  A.D.  1296.    [Ragman's  Roll.] 

3.  THOMAS,  A.D.  1415,  gave,  by   Deed  of  Obligation,  £20   (Scots)  to 
James  Bisset,  Prior  of  St.  Andrews. 

JOHN,  Sub-Prior. 

4.  ADAM  wrote  a  Treatise  on  "  The  Soliloquy  of  the  Soul." 

5.  JAMES  BEATON,  about  A.D.  1503,  uncle  of  the  Cardinal,  afterwards 
Bishop  of  Galloway,  and  Archbishop  of  Glasgow  and  St.  Andrews. 

6.  GAVIN  DUNBAR,  A.D.  1514,  afterwards  Archbishop  of  Glasgow. 

7.  MANCOLALYNE,  who  was  present  at  the  Trial  of  Sir  John  Borthwick 
for  alleged  Heresy. 

VALUATION    OF   WHITE    FRIARS,    WHITHORN. 

At  the  "  Eeformation  "  the  Eental  of  the  Priory  of  Whithorn,  as  returned 
to  the  Government,  amounted  to — Money,  £1016  3s  4d  (Scots).  Bear — 15 
Chatters,  14  Bolls,  3  Firlots ;  Meal— 51  Chatters,  15  Bolls,  2  Firlots. 

Another  Kental  was  afterwards  returned,  the  amount  of  which  was — 
Money,  £1159  3s  4rf  (Scots).  Bear— 16  Chatters,  6  Bolls,  3  Firlots ;  Meal 
—53  Chatters,  9  Bolls,  2  Firlots ;  Malt— 1  Chatter. 

IV.  DRYBURGH,     A.D.  1150, 

Situated  on  the  Kiver  Tweed,  10  miles  from  Kelso  and  3 
miles  from  Melrose,  in  Teviotdale,  was  a  famous  Abbey,  Founded 
by  Hugh  de  Morville,  Lord  of  Lauderdale  and  Constable  of  Scot- 
land, and  his  wife  "  Beatrix  de  Bello  Campo"  (Beauchamp),  in  the 
Keign  of  King  David  I.  The  uncle  of  Hugh  de  Morville  was  one  of 
the  murderers  of  Thomas  a  Beckett.  [On  S.  Martin's  Day,  1150, 
the  Cemetery  was  Consecrated,  that  no  Demons  might  haunt  it. 
—Chron.  Mclros.]  Walter  Stuart,  father  to  King  Kobert  II., 
Grants  to  this  place  the  Patronage  of  the  Church  of  Maxton, 
in  the  Shire  of  Koxburgh  and  Diocese  of  Glasgow.  Kilrenny, 
in  Fife,  was  also  given  to  this  Monastery,  by  Ada,  mother  to 
VOL.  i.  2s 


322  MONASTICON. 

King  Malcolm  IV.  and  King  William  the  Lion;  and  by  the 
same  Charter  she  gives  them  also  "  dimidiam  carrucatam 
terrae  de  Pitcortyne,  et  unum  toftum  in  burgo  meo  de  Carole." 
The  Author  of  the  Monasticon  Hibernicum  informs  us  that  there 
were  two  Monasteries  in  Ireland  which  acknowledged  the  Abbacy 
of  Dryburgh  for  their  mother,  viz.,  the  Abbacy  of  Drumcross,  in 
the  County  of  Armagh,  and  the  Abbey  of  Woodburn,  in  the 
County  of  Antrim.  It  was  erected  into  a  Temporal  Lordship  by 
King  James  VI.  in  favour  of  Henry  Erskine,  a  younger  son 
of  the  Earl  of  Mar,  thereafter  created  Lord  Cardross,  ancestor  to 
the  present  Earl  of  Buchan.  There  is  a  Chartulary  of  this 
place,  containing  all  the  Charters  that  were  Granted  thereto, 
in  the  Advocates'  Library,  Edinburgh.  [Spottiswoode.] 

Dryburgh  Abbey  is  situated  on  the  North  Bank  of  the  Tweed, 
upon  a  piece  of  Haugh  Land,  around  which  the  Eiver  describes 
a  Crescent.  Dryburgh,  from 'the  Celtic  Daroch-Bruach,  signifies 
"the  Oak  Grove."  The  venerable  reddish  Ruins  of  this  Abbey, 
Dedicated  to  S.  Mary,  are  completely  embosomed  in  wood  of 
the  richest  foliage.  The  scenery  is  most  interesting,  embracing 
wood  and  water,  mountain  and  rock.  The  variety  is  very 
striking,  and  the  whole  view  gives  rise  to  the  most  pleasing 
sentiments  of  religious  tranquillity.  The  Ruins  are  so  over- 
grown with  foliage  that  great  difficulty  is  found  in  taking 
accurate  measurements  of  them.  Everywhere  you  behold  the 
usurpation  of  Nature  over  Art.  In  one  roofless  Apartment  a 
fine  Spruce  and  Holly  are  to  be  seen  flourishing  in  the  rubbish ; 
in  others  the  Walls  are  completely  covered  with  Ivy ;  and,  even 
on  the  top  of  some  of  the  Arches,  trees  have  sprung  up  to  a  con- 
siderable growth,  and  there,  clustering  with  the  aspiring  Pinnacles, 
add  character  to  the  Gothic  Pile.  The  beauty  of  this  ruined 
Abbey  is  not,  like  those  of  Kelso  and  Jedburgh,  injured  by  being 
in  part  surrounded  with  common  dwellings.  [Smith's  Descrip- 
tion of  Dryburgh  Euins  in  Mortons  Annals  of  Teviotdale. 

David  I.  is  claimed  as  a  co-Founder.  It  was  colonized  from 
Alnwick.  In  1183,  Pope  Lucius  III.  granted  permission  to  the 
Canons  of  Dryburgh,  whenever  the  Kingdom  should  be  under  a 
general  Interdict,  to  Celebrate  Divine  Service  in  their  Church,  in 


WHITE  FBIAES— DEYBUKGH.  823 

a  low  voice,  with  the  Doors  shut,  and  without  ringing  of  Bells — 
all  Excommunicated  and  Interdicted  persons  being  shut  out. 

In  1208,  the  new  Cemetery  was  Consecrated  by  William 
Malvoisin,  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews. 

The  general  Privilege  of  exemption  from  Episcopal  jurisdic- 
tion granted  to  Monasteries  of  this  Order,  appears  not  to  have 
been  acknowledged  in  Scotland,  since  we  find  that  the  Abbots 
of  Dryburgh  were  obliged  to  attend  the  Synodal  Meetings  at 
Haddington,  held  under  the  authority  of  the  Bishop  of  St. 
Andrews.  From  this  Obligation  they  were  released  by  William 
de  Lamberton,  who  was  Bishop  from  1298  to  1328. 

In  1332,  when  the  Army  of  Edward  II.  was  on  its  retreat, 
the  Brotherhood  rung  the  Bells  of  the  Convent  for  joy  at 
their  departure,  the  sound  of  which  made  the  English  soldiers 
return  and  burn  the  Abbey  in  revenge.  Kobert  the  Bruce  con- 
tributed liberally  towards  its  repair ;  but  it  has  been  doubted 
whether  it  was  ever  fully  restored  to  its  original  magnificence. 
This  circumstance  will  account  for  the  intermixture  of  a  later 
Style  with  the  original  Norman  Architecture.  Patrick,  one  of 
the  Canons,  who  was  reckoned  among  the  first  men  of  his  age  as 
a  Philosopher,  Divine,  Orator,  and  Poet,  lived  at  this  Period, 
and  wrote  a  Poem  upon  the  Destruction  of  the  Monastery,  which 
he  addressed  to  the  King  and  to  the  Superiors  of  Keligious 
Houses.  [Dempster's  Hist.  Eccles.] 

Certain  flagrant  disorders  which  were  found  to  have  occurred 
in  the  Community,  but  of  which  the  Date  is  not  mentioned,  may 
with  probability  be  referred  to  a  Period  not  many  years  sub- 
sequent to  this.  It  was  found  that  strife  and  .debate  had  existed, 
and  blows  had  been  dealt,  not  only  among  themselves,  but  to 
other  Keligious.  Some  of  the  Brethren  had  infringed  the  Kule 
which  forbade  the  possession  of  private  Property;  some  had 
obtained  admission  into  the  Convent  by  simony ;  and  others,  who 
lay  under  Censures,  had  been  admitted  to  Holy  Orders.  For 
these  Offences  they  had  been  Excommunicated,  and  could  not  be 
lawfully  restored  without  personally  appearing  at  Rome  before 
the  Pope.  The  observance  of  this  obligation  made  matters 
rather  worse ;  for  in  so  long  a  journey,  during  which  those  under 


324  MONASTICON. 

ban  were  necessarily  removed  from  notice  and  control,  they 
were  apt  to  fall  into  irregularities,  to  wander  about  at  their  ease, 
and  to  contract  vagabond  habits.  These  things  being  stated  to 
Pope  Gregory  XI.  (1370-1377),  he,  in  the  second  year  of  his 
Pontificate,  gave  the  Abbot  power,  according  to  his  discretion,  to 
Absolve  the  least  guilty,  upon  due  Penance  done ;  but  more 
enormous  Offenders  were  still  to  be  sent  to  receive  Correction 
and  Absolution  at  the  Papal  Court.  [Chart.  Dryburg,  96,  v.] 

About  this  time  lived  Kalph  Strode,  a  distinguished  Poet  and 
Philosopher,  who,  in  the  early  part  of  his  career,  devoted  himself 
to  Literary  pursuits  in  this  Monastery,  whence  he  was  sent,  at 
the  expense  of  the  King  of  Scots,  to  study  at  Merton  College, 
Oxford,  of  which  he  became  a  Fellow.  He  was  a  friend  of 
Geoffrey  Chaucer,  who,  at  the  conclusion  of  his  Troilus  and 
Cresseide,  inscribes  that  Poem  to  "the  moral  Gower,"  and  to 
"the  philosophical  Strode."  He  travelled  through  France  and 
Germany  into  Italy,  perhaps  in  company  with  that  celebrated 
Poet,  who  was  at  Milan  in  1368,  where  he  became  personally 
acquainted  with  Petrarca.  Strode  also  strode  into  the  Holy 
Land,  and  wrote  an  Account  of  his  Journey.  By  some  Writers 
he  is  represented  as  a  follower,  and  by  others  an  opponent,  of  his 
Contemporary,  John  Wicliffe.  The  Title  of  one  of  his  Works, 
and  Wicliffe 's  Answer  to  it,  prove  the  latter  to  be  the  fact,  which 
would  have  been  sufficiently  apparent  from  his  having  long 
continued  a  Tutor  at  Merton  College,  where  Lewis  Chaucer,  the 
son  of  his  friend,  was  among  his  Pupils.  His  Literary  Works, 
according  to  Dempster,  were  these: — 1,  "  FabulaB  Lepidae, 
versu;"  2,  "  Consequentiarum  Formulae ;"  3,  "  Sophismalum 
Strophse;"  4,  "Itinerarium  Teme  Sanctse;"  5,  "Panegyrici 
versu  Patris;"  6,  "  Summulae  Logicales  ;"  7,  "  Phantasma  Ka- 
dulphi ;"  8,  "  Positiones,  et  xvm.  Argumenta,  contra  Wicliffum 
Hereticum;"  9,  "  Opuscula." 

From  Fabricius,  we  learn  that  he  belonged  to  the  Order  of 
Preaching  Friars,  and  was  Poet-Laureate  at  Oxford. 

Eichard  II.  set  the  Abbey  on  fire  in  one  of  his  forays  in  1385  ; 
and  in  1544,  Sir  George  Bowes  and  Sir  Brian  Layton,  at  the 
head  of  700  men,  once  more  burned  it,  saving  the  Church  only. 


WHITE  FRIARS— DEYBUKGH.  325 

Next  year,  in  September,  1545,  we  find  the  Abbot  of  Dryburgh 
(James  Stewart)  acting  as  a  Feudal  Chief,  and,  in  company  with 
other  Chieftains,  at  the  head  of  their  followers,  crossing  the 
Tweed  into  Northumberland,  where,  having  burned  the  Village  of 
Homcliff,  with  the  corn  in  it,  and  attempting  to  do  similar 
damage  to  other  places,  they  were  repulsed  with  loss  by  the 
Garrisons  of  Norham  and  Berwick,  assisted  by  the  warlike 
inhabitants.  [Cotton  MS.] 

The  Church  was  cruciform,  and  the  Nave  and  Choir  had 
Aisles :  the  Transept  had  an  Eastern  Aisle.  There  was  a 
Presbytery  36  feet  long,  in  the  place  of  a  Lady  Chapel.  The 
Nave  was  of  six  Bays ;  the  Choir  of  two ;  while  the  Shallow 
Transept  extended  only  one  Bay  beyond  the  line  of  the  Nave. 
The  Chapter  House,  Chapel  of  S.  Modan,  Eefectory,  Kitchen, 
and  Dormitories,  are  Transitional  Norman;  the  Choir  and 
Transept  were  Early  English ;  and  the  Nave  Early  Decorated. 
The  latter  measured  190  feet  by  75  feet.  The  South  front  of  the 
Transept  has  five  Lancets,  within  an  enclosing  Arch.  The 
Chapter  House,  47  feet  by  23  feet,  and  20  feet  in  height,  has  a 
Double  Circle  in  the  Floor  to  mark  the  Founder's  Grave. 

S.  Mary's  Aisle  is  the  North  Aisle  of  the  Choir,  and  occupies 
two  Bays.  In  it  Sir  Walter  Scott  was  Buried  on  the  26th 
September,  1832. 

There  is  a  singular  diversity  of  levels  in  this  Monastery. 
The  Church,  which  lies  along  the  North  side,  is  on  the  highest 
level;  it  requires  10  steps  to  get  down  to  the  level  of  the  Cloisters, 
and  as  many  more  to  get  down  to  the  level  of  the  Chapter  House. 

To  the  South  of  the  Chapter  House  is  the  Abbot's  Parlour. 
The  immense  Fire-place  was  in  the  upper  end,  and,  when  filled 
with  Billet-wood,  must  have  been  very  comfortable  in  a  Winter 
evening,  where  the  Abbot  and  those  of  his  Monks  whose  minds 
were  of  a  superior  order,  enjoyed  "the  feast  of  reason,  and  the 
flow  of  soul."  Immediately  South  of  this  Parlour  is  a  large 
Arched  Passage,  which  led  from  the  front  of  the  Abbey  towards 
the  Village.  This  Passage  is  24  feet  long  by  13  broad,  and  8 
feet  high.  Above  this  Passage  is  the  Buttery  of  the  Abbey, 
where  the  Plate  was  kept.  The  small  Stair-case  from  the 


326  MONA8TICON. 

Abbot's  Parlour  to  the  Dormitories  led  through  this  Chamber; 
and  the  Door  on  the  top  of  the  Stair  is  very  small,  and  only  4 
feet  high.  From  the  way  the  Stones  are  cut,  the  Door  must 
have  been  iron.  There  was  another  Stair-case  to  the  Dormi- 
tories, which  went  from  this  Cloister.  The  Dormitory  was  24 
feet  by  14.  There  is  one  very  small  Window  to  it  at  the  East 
end.  It  has  also  the  remains  of  a  Fire-place.  This  is  the  only 
Apartment  in  the  whole  Abbey  the  Stone  Pavement  of  which  is 
still  entire — all  of  irregular  Flag- Stones,  in  the  same  way  in 
which  the  Koman  Koads  were  paved.  South  of  ths  Passage 
stated  above  are  the  remains  of  the  Library,  evidently  a  more 
modern  Building  than  the  rest  of  the  Abbey,  but  of  equally,  if 
not  more,  beautiful  workmanship.  The  size  of  this  Library 
appears  to  have  been  24  feet  long  by  24  broad,  and  about  18 
feet  high. 

The  Refectory,  or  great  Dining  Hall,  occupied  the  whole 
front  of  the  Abbey  facing  the  South.  It  was  100  feet  long  by  30 
broad,  and  about  60  feet  high.  At  the  back  Door  of  the  Refec- 
tory was  found  a  very  curious  Lavatory,  beautifully  carved  all 
round,  repeating  the  same  Figure  eight  times,  twice  on  each  side. 
Probably  the  subject  is  some  Legend — a  Monster,  being  the  head 
of  a  Pig  to  the  wings  of  a  Bird,  having  the  body  of  a  Serpent, 
ending  in  a  leaf  by  wray  of  a  tail.  The  Lead  Pipe  for  letting  out 
the  Water  was  attached  to  this  Lavatory.  Under  the  Refectory 
was  half  a  dozen  Cellars :  the  one  opposite  the  Gate-house  was 
the  Almonry  Cellar,  where  Broken  Bread  and  Meat  were  given 
to  the  Poor.  Over  this  Cellar  in  the  Refectory  was  a  Door,  still 
entire,  which  led  by  a  Stair  down  to  the  Kitchen ;  but  the  Stair 
and  Kitchen  are  destroyed.  The  mark  of  the  Roof  of  the 
Kitchen  is  still  distinctly  seen  in  the  West  Gable  of  the  Refec- 
tory, outside. 

The  Cloisters  are  to  the  North  of  the  Refectory.  The  Walls, 
to  the  height  of  20  feet,  are  still  standing ;  but  the  Arcade  is 
destroyed,  evidently  by  fire.  The  Cloister  was  100  feet  square, 
and  is  now  an  elegant  Flower  Garden.  In  the  centre  there  is  a 
Statue,  by  Gowan,  on  which  is  inscribed — "Inigo  Jones,  obiit 
Julij,  1652,  Mi.  80."  There  is  a  very  old  Inscription,  close  to 


WHITE  FKIAES— DRYBUEGH.  327 

the  ground,  near  the  Window  of  the  Chapter  House,  looking  into 
the  Cloister.  Probably  it  is  to  the  memory  of  some  Monk  or 
Mason,  employed  in  the  Building.  It  is  only — "Hie  jacit 
Archabaldus." 

There  is  a  Door  in  each  Corner  of  the  Cloisters.  The  one  at 
the  South-East  Corner  is  the  Grand  Entrance  from  the  front,  by 
a  flight  of  10  steps  :  this  is  not  used  now,  as  the  steps  are  much 
decayed.  The  one  at  the  North-East  Corner  is  the  Passage  from 
the  Cloisters  into  the  Church,  near  S.  Modan's  Chapel.  The 
Door  at  the  South- West  Corner  is  the  present  Entrance  into  the 
Cloisters,  and  at  it  is  by  far  the  most  beautiful  view  of  the  Abbey. 
The  Door  at  the  North- West  Corner  is  to  the  Dungeons,  which 
are  upon  the  West  side,  where  the  Peristyles  are  burnt  down, 
intended  for  a  Nunnery ;  but  there  is  no  record  that  it  was  ever 
built.  These  Dungeons  are  three  in  number,  and  are  very 
gloomy ;  two  are  quite  entire,  and  the  third  is  partly  in  ruins. 
The  innermost  one  is  32  feet  long  by  12  broad,  and  9  feet  high. 
The  Window  or  Slit  is  about  2  inches  broad,  having  an  iron  bar 
1  inch  square.  A  hole  is  cut  in  a  solid  stone,  large  enough  for 
the  largest  man's  hand,  into  which  the  Border  predatory  Moss- 
trooper's, Prisoner's,  or  refractory  Monk's  hand  was  thrust  and 
wedged  in.  The  hole  is  placed  so  low  that  the  Prisoner  could 
kneel  down,  but  he  could  neither  sit  nor  lie  down.  There  is  a 
Seat  at  the  Window  of  this  inner  Dungeon,  where  Prisoners,  not 
contumacious,  could  sit.  There  is  a  square  aperture  in  the  Wall 
for  Bread  and  Water,  no  other  provision  being  allowed  to  be  sent 
to  any  inmate  in  such  durance  vile. 

The  following  Possessions  and  Ptevenues  were  granted  to  the 
Abbey  of  Dryburgh  :— 

King  David,  by  his  Charter,  confirmed  to  the  Canons  the 
Grant  of  the  Church  of  S.  Mary  at  Dryburghe,  with  the  Chapels, 
Tithes,  Offerings,  and  whatever  belonged  to  it. 

Peter  de  Haga,  in  the  time  of  Alexander  II.,  gave  them  2 
Oxgangs  in  Bemerside,  with  a  Messuage  and  Garden,  and 
Pasture  for  3  Cows  and  20  Sheep ;  also,  a  part  of  his  Forest 
of  Flatwood,  viz.,  "  Qua3  incipit  ad  crucem  lapideam  sitam  in 
capite  dicti  nemoris,  descendendo  per  viam  quse  vocatur  Hors- 


328  MONASTICON. 

mangate,  usque  ad  Mukeforde  de  Twede,  et  de  Mukeford  ascen- 
dendo  juxta  fossam  adhaerentem  terrse  de  Driburgh,  usque  ad 
magnam  viam  existentem  inter  Flatwode  et  Trepewode,  et  sic 
totam  illam  viam  usque  ad  caput  de  Horsmangate ;  cum  libero 
intruitu  et  exitu  cum  caritagiis  et  rebus  suis,  exceptis  terris 
seminatis,  et  pratis  non  falcatis." 

Mertoun  Church  belonged  to  the  Canons  before  1221,  when 
it  was  confirmed  to  them  by  Pope  Honorius  III.  Eoger  de 
Quinci,  Earl  of  Winchester,  in  England,  and  Great  Constable  of 
Scotland,  who  Died  in  1200,  gave  them  the  whole  Fishing  of 
the  Lake  of  Mertoun.  Alexander  de  Baliol,  Laird  of  Cavers, 
granted  them,  in  1271,  half  of  the  Wood  of  Gladiswood,  in  the 
same  Parish,  with  half  of  the  Woodhead,  in  Feu  or  Copyhold, 
for  40  Shillings  annually. 

Helias  gave  them  some  Land  at  his  Village  of  Brotherstan- 
syde,  extending  on  the  North  to  the  Foss  called  Wattridike,  with 
Pasture  for  100  Sheep,  8  Oxen,  4  Cows,  and  2  Horses ;  also  6 
Acres  of  Arable  Land  between  Witerig  Marsh  and  Blakeburn. 
Thomas  of  Brotherstane,  gave  6  Acres,  with  Pasture  for  80 
Sheep,  4  Oxen,  and  1  Horse.  Simon  de  Wardrobe,  who  Married 
the  daughter  of  Helias  of  Brotherstanesyde,  gave  18  Acres  which 
Helias  gave  him  at  his  Marriage.  Alan,  the  son  of  Helen,  sister 
of  Thomas  of  Brotherstanesyde,  gave  a  Toft  and  Croft,  and  4 
Acres  of  Arable  Land ;  also,  10  Acres  beneath,  and  other  10 
above  the  way  leading  to  Eokesburg. 

David  Olifard  gave  the  Canons  a  Ploughgate,  and  Pasture  for 
300  Sheep  in  Smalham.  Walter  de  Moray,  in  1278,  exempted 
them  from  Multure  for  their  Corn  grown  on  the  above  Land,  and 
on  their  ground  at  Smalham  Miln. 

Nenthorn  Miln  was  the  gift  of  Beatrix  de  Beauchamp.  For 
the  Tithes  thereof  the  Canons  paid  half  a  Mark  yearly  to  the 
Parish  Minister.  They  had  also  an  Acre  of  Land  in  Nenthorn. 

King  Malcolm  IV.  gave  them  half  a  Ploughgate  in  Edinham, 
and  2  Marks  annual  Kent  there.  They  granted  this  Land  to 
the  Master  and  Congregation  of  the  Hospital  of  S.  Leonard  at 
Edinham  for  half  a  Mark  and  a  Pound  of  Incense  yearly.  This 
rent  they  afterwards  exchanged  for  some  Land  at  Petcorthyn. 


WHITE  FRIARS— DRYBURGH.  829 

The  Nuns  of  Eccles  were  bound  to  pay  the  Canons  half  a 
Mark  annually,  for  a  Pittance  at  Christmas,  out  of  the  Feus  due 
to  Thomas  of  Lessedewyn  and  his  Heirs,  for  the  Land  of  Hunt- 
rodes,  granted  to  the  same  Nuns. 

The  Canons  had  some  Land  on  the  South  side  of  the 
Cemetery  of  the  Holy  Trinity  at  Berwick,  and  Five  Shillings 
yearly  out  of  some  Land  in  Revenysden,  near  the  Town.  In 
1390,  when  Eobert  III.  suppressed  the  Cistertian  Nunnery  of 
South  Berwick,  on  account  of  the  dissolute  lives  of  the  Nuns, 
whose  number  were  in  future  to  be  reduced  to  two,  he  gave  their 
Property  to  the  Convent  at  Dryburgh.  In  1410,  Walter  Hali- 
burton  of  Dirlton  consented  that  the  Lands  in  his  Barony, 
formerly  belonging  to  the  same  Nuns,  should  be  annexed  to  the 
said  Abbey. 

Patrick,  Earl  of  Dunbar,  gave  the  Convent  a  Meadow  in 
Fauns.  Adam  of  Fauns  gave  them  a  Petary  on  the  South- West 
side  of  Kingswell.  Sir  Adam  of  Gordon  gave  another  Petary. 
Richard,  son  to  Nicolas  of  Fauns,  gave  an  Acre  next  the 
Common,  on  the  West  side  of  Southbuttes ;  and  his  sister  Ede 
gave  half  an  Acre  adjoining.  He  gave  also  a  Turbary  and  Pasture. 

Patrick,  Earl  of  Dunbar,  gave  them  two  Oxgangs  in  Ercildon, 
with  a  Toft  and  Croft  near  the  way  which  led  up  to  the  Cross 
on  the  West  side  of  the  Town,  and  Common  Pasture  for  100 
Sheep,  12  Oxen,  12  Swine,  and  2  horses,  with  Easements ;  also 
Hunter's-land,  with  Common  Pasture  for  300  Sheep,  4  Oxen, 
and  4  Cows.  Alexander,  son  to  Alan  Purways,  gave  a  Messuage, 
with  Toft  and  Croft,  in  the  North-East  part  of  Ercildon;  a 
Husband-land  in  the  same,  viz.,  1  Oxgang  in  Hwytfyld,  and 
another  in  Bromsyde,  and,  in  augmentation,  3  Acres  in  Quhytlaw, 
an  Acre  in  Pottermeadow,  near  the  Redfurd,  and  Common 
Pasture,  &c.  Patrick,  Earl  of  March,  Confirmed  this  gift  of  30 
Acres  in  1333. 

Earl  Patrick  of  Dunbar  gave  Elvinesley,  bounded  by  the 
Hedge  which  reached  up  to  Duneden,  and  to  Resbrygge,  whence 
it  was  limited  by  Malcolmsrode  to  Styrkerden,  and  by  Styrkerden 
to  the  Ledre.  He  gave  them  also  two  and  a  half  Acres  in 
Dunbar. 

VOL.  I,  2  T 


330  MONASTICON. 

Caddisley,  with  Pasture  in  the  Forest,  was  the  gift  of  David 
I.  Walter,  the  son  of  Alan,  gave  the  adjacent  Land  of  Herdes- 
ley.  The  Chapel  at  Caddisley,  and  the  Chapel  of  S.  Leonard, 
both  on  the  West  side  of  the  Leder,  belonged  to  the  Convent. 
They  had  1  Mark  yearly  out  of  Birkynside,  from  Patrick,  son  to 
the  Earl  of  Dunbar. 

John  Baliol,  and  Devorgilla,  his  wife,  gave  them  the  Church 
of  Lauder,  upon  condition  of  their  maintaining  6  Chaplains  to 
pray  for  them,  and  their  Ancestors  and  Successors.  They  had 
an  Acre  in  Lauder,  called  Alrichesscroftys,  and  an  Acre  of 
Meadow. 

Eichard  Mautaland  gave  them  Houbenthousyde,  in  Thirlstane, 
and  the  Land  which  had  been  Walter  Gilling's,  with  Pasture  for 
400  Sheep,  60  Cows,  and  20  Horses.  They  had  also  the  Tithes 
of  Thirlstane  Miln ;  the  Lands  which  had  been  Simon  de  Smer- 
dale's;  Oswin's  Land,  with  Tofts  and  Crofts,  and  20  Acres  in 
Briggislet;  the  Land  called  Croukes,  with  the  two  Meadows 
called  Langlethes ;  and  Brumcrok,  situated  between  Croukes  and 
the  same  Meadows.  Snawdoun  was  Confirmed  to  them  by  John, 
son  and  heir  of  Eobert  Mautland. 

Henry,  the  son  of  Samson  de  Logis,  gave  them  a  Toft  and 
Croft  in  Samsonschelis,  with  Arable  Land  and  Meadow  by  the 
side  of  the  Brook  which  divideth  his  Land  from  Pilemuir, 
extending  from  the  Stone  Cross  on  its  margin  Northwards  to 
Derestrete  ;  and  also  the  Land  by  the  side  of  the  Foss,  extending 
from  the  same  Stone  Cross  to  the  Koad  leading  to  Wenesheud, 
and  thence  to  Broade  Scropirburne,  and  to  the  Leder,  with 
Pasture  for  300  Sheep,  60  Cattle,  and  Easements.  They  had 
another  grant  of  2  Crofts  and  a  Toft  in  Samsonchel,  with  the 
Meadow  between  Morelaw  and  Kaldewell ;  and  the  Arable  Land 
and  Muir  between  Morelaw,  Kaldewell,  Standandstane,  and  the 
Leder.  William  de  Burncastell  gave  them  a  Meadow  called 
Flayillis  in  Logis  Samson,  and  a  Muir,  and  Lousilawe,  and  4 
Acres  in  Flokesflate,  for  which  they  were  to  pay  Fourpence 
annually,  or  a  Pound  of  Pepper,  at  Koxburgh  Fair. 

In  1273,  Sir  William  de  Abernethy  gave  an  Annual  Kent  of 
2  Marks,  to  be  paid  out  of  the  Miln  of  Ulkilston,  to  buy  Wax  for 


WHITE  FRIAKS— DKYBUKGH.  331 

Candles  to  be  used  in  the  Celebration  of  Mass  at  Dryburgh.    He 
afterwards  gave  them  the  Miln  itself,  with  all  its  Profits. 

Channelkirk  Church  was  given  to  the  Canons  by  Hugh  de 
Morville.  When  Henry  de  Mundevilla  built  the  Chapel  of  Glen- 
gelt,  in  the  Parish  of  Childenchirch,  he  guaranteed  the  Eights 
and  Dues  of  the  Parish  Church,  and  gave  the  Canons  of  Dryburgh 

3  Acres  contiguous  to  the  7  Acres  which  they  had  from  his 
Ancestor,  Ivo  de  Veteriponte.     John  de  Sauncler  engaged  that 
the  Eights  of  the  same  Church  should  be  faithfully  preserved 
when  he  built  a  Chapel  at  Carfrae,  and  another  at  Herdmanston; 
and  he  gave  the  Canons  2  Acres  in  Herdmanston,  adjacent  to 
their  Land  in  Saulton. 

Hugh  de  Morville  gave  them  the  Church  of  Sawelton.  John 
of  Saulton,  and  Agnes,  his  spouse,  gave  to  the  Church  of  S. 
Michael  at  Saulton,  and  the  Canons  of  Dryburgh,  its  Eectors, 
5  Acres  near  the  East  side  of  the  Cross.  John  Burgulum  gave 

4  Acres  on  the  North  side  of  Langlees,  with  Common  Pasture 
and  Easements.     Henry  Stylle  gave  them  an  Acre  and  4  Bod- 
falls.     William  de  Abernethy,  the  Laird  of  Saulton,  gave  them  a 
Messuage,  a  Brewery,  7  Acres  of  Arable  Land,  Pasture  for  12 
Cattle,  and  Fuel  in  the  Muir  sufficient  for  1  Husbandman. 

John  Giffard,  Laird  of  Tester,  gave  them  half  a  Mark  yearly 
out  of  the  Town  of  Bothans.  Alexander  de  St.  Martin  gave 
them  Langlaw. 

The  Patronage  of  Pencaithland  Church  was  granted  by  Lady 
Catherine  Stewart  of  Cardross  before  1376. 

Sir  William  de  Wallibus  (the  old  Latin  form  of  the  names 
Vaux  and  Wallace)  gave  them  the  Church  of  Golyn,  upon  the 
condition  of  their  finding  two  Canons  to  say  Mass  for  the  soul  of 
his  Lord,  King  William,  in  the  Chauntry  of  S.  Nicholas,  in  the 
Isle  of  Elbottle.  He  gave  them  also  Stanyaere,  consisting  of  20 
Acres  and  a  half  on  the  North-East  side  of  the  old  Castle  of 
Elbottle,  with  Pasture  for  300  Sheep  and  22  Cattle,  and  Ease- 
ments in  common  with  the  Villagers  of  Elbottle  and  Dirleton. 
John  de  Wallibus,  Laird  of  Dirleton,  gave  the  Convent  two 
Crofts  in  Golyn,  and  a  Meadow.  For  the  privilege  of  having  a 
Chapel  at  Dirleton,  he  paid  a  Stone  of  Wax  yearly  to  the  Mother 


382  MONASTICON. 

Church  of  Golyn,  to  which  the  said  Chapel  paid  also  a  Pound  of 
Frankincense  yearly.  The  Nuns  of  South  Berwick  resigned 
their  Claim  to  the  Patronage  of  Golyn  Church  to  the  Canons  in 
1221.  Alexander  de  Vallibus,  in  consideration  of  the  danger  of 
the  times,  released  them  from  their  obligation  to  say  Mass  at 
Elbottle,  on  condition  of  their  causing  the  same  service  to  be 
performed  for  ever  by  one  Canon  at  Stodfald,  and  another  at 
Dryburgh,  for  the  souls  of  his  Ancestors  and  Successors. 

King  David  gave  them  a  Habitation  in  his  Burgh  of  Caruile 
[Crail],  in  Fife,  with  3  Roods  of  Ground. 

The  Countess  Ada,  mother  of  Malcolm  IV.  and  King  William, 
gave  the  Canons  the  Church  of  Kilrenny.  The  Canons  claimed 
half  of  the  Dues  paid  by  persons  Fishing  in  Boats  in  the  River 
which  divided  Kilrenny  from  the  Parish  of  Anstruther  belonging 
to  the  Monastery  in  the  Isle  of  May.  The  Monks  of  May  dis- 
puted this  right ;  and  it  was  settled,  in  1225,  that  they  should 
pay  the  Canons  1  Mark  yearly  for  the  same.  Margaret  of 
Ardrosse,  the  wife  of  Hugh  de  Perisby,  gave  them  the  Land  of 
Innergelly  in  1281. 

Henry,  Laird  of  Aynestruther,  gave  them  three  Shops  in  the 
East  side  of  the  Town  of  Anstruther,  with  a  Messuage  and 
Garden,  and  some  Pasture. 

King  David  Confirmed  to  them  a  Toft  without  the  West  Gate 
of  the  Town  of  Roxburgh,  and  some  Ground  within  the  Wall  of 
the  same,  with  freedom  from  Taxes  and  Customs  therein.  King 
William  gave  them  20  Shillings  yearly  out  of  the  Revenues  of 
the  same  Burgh.  Beatrix  de  Beauchamp  gave  them  some  Land 
there.  Robert  de  Boneire  gave  the  Canons  half  of  the  Land 
which  was  Edolph's,  the  Miller,  in  Heuedegate,  for  which  they 
were  to  pay  to  the  Nuns  of  Redesdale  Fivepence  yearly.  They 
had  7  Shillings  and  Sixpence  yearly  out  of  a  Burgage  in  the 
North  side  of  King  Street,  opposite  the  Church  of  the  Holy 
Sepulchre,  between  the.  Blachall  on  the  East,  and  the  Property 
of  Peter  of  Old  Roxburgh  on  the  West.  Sir  William  Felton, 
Sheriff  of  Roxburgh,  gave  them  this  Burgage  entirely  in  1338. 

Philip  de  Colville  gave  them  two  Oxgangs  of  Land  in  Hetoun. 

In   1200,  the  Canons  yielded  the  Claim  they  had  to  the 


WHITE  FBIABS— DBYBUBGH.  333 

Church  of  Maxton  to  Sir  Hugh  de  Normanville,  for  which  he 
gave  them  half  a  Ploughgate  of  Land  in  Newtoun,  on  the  West 
side  of  Derestrete.  Walter,  the  Steward  of  Scotland,  father  of 
Robert  II.,  granted  them  the  same  Church,  with  the  Glebe,  to 
which  he  added  4  Acres  in  Lonecrofts.  They  were  to  pay  the 
Vicar  10  Pounds  yearly,  according  to  the  Statute  of  the  Council 
of  Scotland. 

The  Church  of  Lessedw}rne  was  granted  by  Richard  de 
Loudonia,  with  Tofts,  an  Orchard  Land,  and  a  Meadow.  In 
1252,  the  Convent  of  Melros  agreed  to  pay  the  Canons  half  a 
Mark  yearly  at  Roxburgh  Fair,  instead  of  the  Tithes  of  their 
Land  in  this  Parish. 

John,  the  son  of  Yliff,  gave  them  10  Acres  in  Ylistoun,  viz., 
2  on  the  East  side  of  the  Brook  which  ran  under  his  Garden,  5 
in  Rokflat,  and  3  in  Greenrig.  He  made  them  another  grant  of 
a  Toft  and  2  Acres,  and  an  Acre  in  Greenside,  on  the  East  of 
Hairstanes.  They  acquired  also  some  Land  in  Ylistoun  by 
purchase. 

Ada,  the  daughter  of  Hugh  de  Morville,  gave  them  the  Tenths 
of  the  Miln  of  Newtoun.  Isabella  de  Merlintoun,  the  wife  of 
William  de  Bosvill,  gave  them  an  Acre  in  Brokislawe,  in  the 
same  Territory.  They  had  the  Chapel  of  Newtoun,  but  it  was 
claimed  by  the  Canons  of  Jedburgh,  and  afterwards  yielded  to  them. 

They  had  the  Patronage  of  the  Church  of  S.  Mary  in  Etterick 
Forest,  in  the  time  of  David  II. 

David  I.  granted  to  the  Convent  the  Church  of  S.  Kentigern 
of  Lanark,  with  the  Chapel  of  Glegern  [Cleghorn],  which  he 
annexed  thereto.  He  gave  them,  likewise,  the  Chapel  of 
Pedynane  [Pettinain],  the  Grange  of  Imbirston,  or  Inglebriston, 
the  whole  Parish  of  Nemphlar  and  Carteland,  with  the  Tithes  of 
all  his  Cattle  in  the  same  Villages.  Alexander,  the  Rector  of 
Cowanistoun  [Covington],  gave  up  to  them  his  Right  to  the 
Tithes  of  Clouburn. 

Alexander  de  Nenham  gave  the  Canons  that  half  Ploughgate 
of  Land  at  Triern,  in  the  Territory  of  Giffyn,  in  Cunningham, 
Ayrshire,  upon  which  the  Chapel  of  S.  Bridget  was  situated,  and 
which  lay  along  the  side  of  the  Brook  which  runs  down  from 


834  MONASTICON. 

Starvvele  to  Triernburn,  and  is  bounded  also  by  the  Brook  which 
runs  down  from  S.  Bridget's  Well,  with  Pasture  and  Easements, 
in  exchange  for  4  Oxgangs  given  them  by  his  father,  William, 
and  his  brother,  Kichard.  Alan,  the  son  of  Koland,  the  Constable 
of  Scotland,  Confirmed  this  Agreement.  The  Convent  granted 
this  Land  to  Alan's  Chaplain  for  4  Shillings  yearly,  to  be  paid  at 
Koxburgh  Fair,  and  to  his  Heirs  and  Assigns  for  half  a  Mark 
yearly. 

The  Church,  and  the  Land,  Lesser  of  Sowerby  [Sorby],  in 
Wigtonshire,  was  the  gift  of  Kobert  de  Veteriponte.  In  1280, 
the  Prior  and  Convent  of  Candida  Casa  agreed  to  pay  20  Marks 
for  the  Fruits,  Eevenues,  and  Dues  of  the  Churches  of  Sowrby 
and  Kirkfolan,  of  which  the  Abbot  and  Convent  of  Dryburgh  had 
appointed  them  Procurators. 

Hugh  de  Morville  gave  them  the  Church  of  Worgis,  in 
Galwey  [Borgue,  in  Kirkcudbrightshire] ;  and  his  wife,  Beatrix, 
gave  them  the  Church  of  Bosjeth. 

Walter,  Bishop  of  Galloway,  who  Died  in  1335,  gave  the 
Convent  the  Church  of  Sembry;  and  Bishop  Gilbert,  his  Suc- 
cessor, gave  them  the  Church  of  Vogrie. 

King  David  exempted  them  from  paying  Toll  and  Customs, 
and  gave  them  a  right  to  take  Timber  from  his  Woods  for  their 
Buildings  and  other  uses. 

In  1242,  the  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  in  consideration  of  the 
Charity  of  the  Canons,  and  the  Debts  they  had  incurred  in  build- 
ing their  Monastery,  and  other  expenses,  gave  them  permission  to 
enjoy  the  Kevenues  of  the  Churches  under  their  Patronage  within 
his  Diocese ;  one  of  their  number,  approved  by  him,  performing 
the  Office  of  a  Vicar  in  each  Parish. 


ABBOTS    OF    DKYBUKGH. 

1.  EOGER,  13th  December,  1152.  He  Kesigned  in  1177.  He  was 
Witness  to  a  Confirmation  by  the  Archdeacon  and  whole  Clergy  of  Lothian 
of  a  Composition  between  Melrose  and  the  Church  of  Dunbar,  in  presence 
of  Kichard,  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  regarding  the  Tithes  of  the  Granges  of 
Edmundeston  and  Herteshend.  He  had  three  Bulls  addressed  to  himself  by 
Pope  Alexander  III.,  Confirming  Grants  to  his  Abbey,  and  permitting 
Service  there  in  time  of  general  Interdict.  [Cart.  Dryburg.] 


WHITE  FEIAES— DEYBUEGH.  335 

2.  GEEAED,  the  Prior,  a  "person  of  much  gravity,  full  of  days,   of 
fragrant  renown,  and  a  most  devout  worshipper  of  the  Blessed  Virgin." 
[Chron.  Nelr.]    He  was  Abbot  here  32  years,  and  was  Translated  in  1209  to 
be  Abbot  of  Alnwick.     He  had  a  general  Privilege  of  the  Churches,  Lands, 
Fishings,  Teinds,  &c.,  from  Pope  Lucius  III.,  in  the  3rd  year  of  his  Pontifi- 
cate, 1184. 

3.  EICHAED,  Abbot  in  1190.     He  was  one  of  the  Witnesses  at  a  solemn 
Convention  between  the   High  Steward's  Knights  of  Innerwick  and  the 
Abbey  of  Kelso,  made  at  the  Festival  of  S.  Martin  next,  after  Philip,  King 
of  France,  and  Kichard,  King  of  England,  went  to  Jerusalem,  which  was 
A.D.  1190.     [Liber  de  Kelso.]     He  also  Witnessed  a  Charter  of  Alan  Fitz 
Walter,  along  with  Bishop  Joceline  of  Glasgow.    [Liber  de  Metros.] 

4.  ALAN,  Abbot  in  1196.     He  had  a  Confirmation  from  Pope  Celestine 
III.,  in  the  first  year  of  his  Pontificate,  1196,  of  the  Church  of  Lessedwyn, 
&c.     [Cart.  Dryburg.] 

5.  GEOFFEEY,  or  GALFEID,  was  Abbot  in  1203.     At  Whitsuntide  this 
year,  he  was  present,  along  with  William,  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  and  many 
other  Churchmen  and  Lay  Lords,  at  the  settlement  of  a  Dispute  between 
the  Monks  of  Kelso  and  William  de  Vipont,  which  was  adjusted  by  De 
Vipont  consenting  to  discharge  the  Monks  of  their  obligation  to  carry  the 
Bones  of  his  father  from  England,  and  to  Bury  them  in  the  Churchyard  of 
Kelso ;  and  the  Monks  agreeing  to  include  his  father  amongst  the  list  of 
Benefactors   to   be  Prayed  for  in  the  Monastery.     As  one  of  the  Papal 
Delegates,  Geoffrey  settled  a  Dispute  between  Melrose  and  Sir  William  de 
Hunum,  regarding  the  Lands  of  Easawe,  after  the  2nd  November,  1208. 
The  Date  is  fixed  by  the  Consecration  of  Walter,  Bishop  of  Glasgow,  who 
was  present.     He  was  removed  from  Dryburgh,   and  became  Abbot  of 
Alnwick,  in  1209. 

6.  WILLIAM,  the  Prior,  was  his  Successor  at  Dryburgh.     He  was  a 
Delegate  in  the  Settlement  between  St.  Andrews  and 

the  Culdees  of  Monymusk,  1211-13.    [Reffist.  Aberdeen, 
vol.  «.,  p.  264.] 

7.  HUGH  was  the  name  of  the  Abbot  in  1221  and 
1228.     In  the  Lent  of  1221,  he  acted  as  a  Papal  Dele- 
gate in  the  settlement  at  Edmhani  of  a  Dispute  about 
Tithes  between  the  Abbot  of  Kelso  and  Alan  de  Mun- 
degumerie,  Knight ;  at  which  settlement  were  present 
"the  whole  Chapter  of  the  Merse."     He  was  one  of 
six    Delegates    in    1221,   for  settling   a   Controversy 
between  Dunferniline  and  Cupar.    In  December,  1225, 
his  Abbey  was  engaged  in  a  Dispute  with  the  Prior  of 

the  Isle  of  May,  in  the  Firth  of  Forth,  regarding  the  An  Arm  vested,  hold- 
Tithes  of  the  Church  of  Kilreuny.  Dryburgh  claimed  a  Crozier.  Cir.  A.D. 
Tithes  of  Fish,  because  the  Fishing  Boats  used  to  lie  1220.  [Metros  Chars.] 


336  MONASTICON. 

in  the  middle  of  the  Biver  (the  Dreel  Burn)  which  divides  the  Parish  of 
Kilrenny,  belonging  to  Dryhurgh,  from  Anstruther,  the  Property  of  The 
May,  dropping  their  anchors  and  fixing  their  moorings  within  the  Parish 
of  Kilrenny.  The  Monks  of  May  compounded  by  paying  one  Merk  yealry. 
[E-eg.  Prior.  S.  Andr.,  p.  395.]  Hugh  was  Witness  to  a  Composition 
between  the  Bishop  of  Glasgow  and  the  Abbey  of  Kil winning  in  1226.  He 
is  also  mentioned  as  Abbot  of  Dry  burgh  in  1228. 

8.  HENEY  was  probably  the  next  Abbot.     He  is  mentioned  as  such  in  a 
Charter  by  Helyas  de  Brothirstainside,  of  Lands  to  the  Abbey,  without 
Date,  but  presumed  to  be  about  1230. 

9.  WALTER  Kesigned  Office  in  1240.    [Chron.  Mailr.,  p.  150.] 

10.  JOHN  succeeded.     He  was  a  Canon  of  the  House.     Soon  after  his 
Election,  he  assisted  at  a  Compromise  between  the  Monks  of  Kelso  and 
some  of  their  Tenants  in  Clydesdale.     He  was  present  in  a  Chapter  of  the 
Clergy  of  East  Lothian  at  Lauder,  on  Saturday  after  the  Festival  of  S. 
Peter's  Chains,  1245,  when  a  Dispute  was  settled  between  the  Priory  of  St. 
Andrews  and  the  Nuns  of  Haddington,  regarding  the  Tithes  of  Stephinstun. 
[Reg.  Prior.  S.  Andr.,  p.  329.] 

11.  OLIVER  was  Abbot  in  1269.     On  the  6th  December,  1262,  he  was 
Witness  to  a  Charter  of  William  de  Alwentun  to  the  Monks  of  Melrose; 
and  seven  days  later,  on  the  Festival  of  S.  Lucia,  he  and  the  Abbot  of 
Kelso  Witnessed   a  Grant  to  the  Monks  of  Melrose,  of  the  Fishings  of 
Malcaruistun,  for  their  support   and  recreation.     He  was  still  Abbot   in 
1268.    [Cliron.  Mailr.,  p.  215.] 

In  the  course  of  this  Century,  two  Societies  of  Canons  from  this 
Monastery  were  planted  in  Ireland — one  of  them  in  the  Abbey  of  Druin-la- 
croix,  or  Drumcross,  in  Armagh,  and  the  other  in  the  Priory  of  Woodburn, 
in  the  County  of  Antrim. 

12.  THOMAS  was  probably  next.     He  granted  a  Charter  of  Lands  in 
Giffen  to  Kichard,  Chaplain  to  Alan,  Lord  of  Galloway,  without  Date,  but 
presumed  to  be  about  1270.     [Cart.  Dr-yburg,  167.] 

13.  WILLIAM  and  the  Canons  submitted  to  the  usurped  dominion  of 
Edward  I.  of  England,  by  taking  an  oath  of  fidelity  to  him  at  Berwick,  on 
the  2nd  September,  1296,  when  the  Fraternity  of  Dryburgh  obtained  restitu- 
tion of  their  property,  which  he  had   unjustly  declared  to   be   forfeited. 
The  Letters  commanding  this  restitution  were  addressed  to  the  Sheriffs  of 
Fife,  Berwick,  Eoxburgh,  and  Edinburgh.     About  1316,  Abbot  William  was 
a  Witness  to  a  Grant  by  William  de  Lamberton,  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  to 
Kelso,  of  the  Church  of  Grenlaw,  with  its  Chapels.     He  also  Witnessed  a 
Charter  of  Confirmation  by  Patrick  of  Dunbar,  Earl  of  March,  to  the  Abbey 
of  Melrose,  of  the  Lands  of  Eedpath,  about  the  year  1319.    In  1324,  William 
was  still  Abbot.     In  that  year  he  appears  as  a  Witness  in  a  Charter  to 
Melrose,  of  the  Patronage  of  the  Church  of  Ochiltree,  and  several  others.  . 
[Liber  de  Metros,  p.  867.] 


WHITE  FRIARS— DRYBURGH. 


887 


14.  ROGER,  Abbot  of  Dryburgh,  occurs  as  a  Witness  to  a  Charter, 
granted  between  1324  and  1328,  by  which  Sir  John  de 
Graham  Confirmed  the  whole  of  Eskdale  to  the  Monks 
of  Melrose.  [Liber  de  Melros,  p.  843.] 

15.  DAVID  is  Witness   to  a  Charter  to  Kelso  in 
1329;  and  he  is  called  Abbot  in  1338.    [Reyist.  Glasg., 
p.  244.] 

16.  ANDREW  is  Witness  to  a  Charter,  this  year,  of 

Roger  de  Auldton,  which 
was  Confirmed  by  David  II., 
April  1,  1354.  [Liber  de 
Kelso,  p.  887.] 

An  Abbot,  holding  /W  HKiE^ii  i&\  17.  JOHN  is  the  name  of 

in  his  right  hand  a 
Book,  and  in  the  left  a 
Crozier.  At  the  sini- 
ster side  is  a  Crescent ; 
the  background  orna- 
mented with  fleurs-de- 
lis  and  trefoils.  A.D. 

1324.     [Melros  Clutr- 

ters  -I  A  full  length  figure  of  an 

Abbot,  holding  the  Crozier 
in  his  right  hand,  and  a  Book 
in  his  left,  within  a  Gothic 
Niche.  Cir.  A.D.  1369.  [Melros 
Charters.] 

the  next  Abbot     On  February  29  1898  he  was  ^^  ^ 

Witness  to  an  Obligation  of  Archibald  M'Dowell  Royal  Crowllj  hoM>g  in  her 

of  Malkarston,  for  the   amount   of  his   Relief  ri0jlt  jian(j  a  m^  anci  jn  ]ier 

granted  by  the  Crown  "  to  the  new  werke  of  the  left  the  Infant  Jesus.   On  the 

Kirke   of  Melros."     On  the   8th  March,    1410,  left  of  the  Virgin  is  the  figure 

John,  Abbot  of  Dryburgh,  w.as   present   when  of  a  Saint,  with  the  Nimbus, 

Henry,  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  Confirmed  the  holding  a  Palm  Branch.    In 

union  of  the  Possessions  of  the  Nuns  of  South  the  lower  Part  of  tlie  Seal  is 

Berwick  to  Dryburgh.  a  Monk  kneeling.    A.D.  1404. 

18.  THOMAS,  Abbot  of  Dryburgh,  on  23rd 

September,  1434,  acted  as  Papal  Delegate  in  determining  upon  a  Claim 
of  Kelso  to  the  Chantry  Founded  by  Roger  de  Auldton.  [Liber  de  Kelso, 
P.  417.] 

19.  JAMES  was  Abbot  of  Dryburgh  on  the  16th  November,  1444,  when, 
on  the  occasion  of  a  Dispute  between  his  Abbey  and  Melrose,  concerning 
the  great  Tithes  of  the  Parish  of  Lesseduen,  in  presence  of  the  four  Abbots 
of  Teviotdale,  in  the  Chapel  of  S.  Mary  Magdalene,  in  the  Hospital  of 
Rutherford,  an  ancient  Custom  was   cited ;  according  to  which  Disputes 
occurring  between  any  two  were  to  be  settled  by  the  Arbitration  of  the 

VOL.  i.  2  u 


888  MONASTICON. 

remaining  Abbots  ;  and  Abbot  James  of  Dryburgh.  "  respondit  quod  super 
hoc  voluit  de  novo  avisare."     [Liber  de  Metros,  p.  575.] 

20.  WALTER,  Abbot  of  the  Abbey  of  Dryburgh,  granted  a  Tack,  Dated 
16th  November,  1465,  in  favour  of  a  "  worschipful  Squear,  William  Halibur- 
ton  of  Mertoun,  and  Jonet,  his  spous,  of  a  Plew  of  Land  of  the  Bouchicoits, 
with  their  Pertinents,  lyand  within  the  Lordship  of  Smailhame,  within  the 
Sherifdome  of  Tevidale."    [Cart.  Dryburg,  p.  278.]    On  the  4th  March,  1466, 
William  Craynstoun  of  Corsby,  Knight,  as  Justiciar  besouth  Forth  specially 
constitute,  granted  a  Commission  to  Walter,  Abbot  of  Dryburgh,  to  which 
were  Witnesses — Sir  Alexander  Hume  of  that  Ilk,  Knight ;  James  Haig  of 
Bemersyde  ;  Nicholas  Forinan  of  Hutton ;  and  Mr.  Jasper  Cranston,  Kector 
of  Fetteresso.     [Crawford's  Cardross  Notes.]     Walter  seems  to  have  been 
Abbot  on  the  31st  July,  1473,  and  on  the  1st  July,  1476,  when  he  pursued 
Actions  before  the  Lords  Auditors,  "for  ye  wranguiss  occupatioun  of  ye 
Lands  of  Ingilberisgrange  by  Lord  Hamiltoun,  '  who  dois  na  wrang '  in  so 
doing;  and  against  Adame  Edgar  of  Wedderlye,  and  Paul  Crysty.     The 
Lords  Auditors  differs  the  matter  concerning  the  said  Adame  to  the  said 
resputt,  and  becaus  the  said  Paul  Crysty  grantit  in  presence  of  the  Lords 
that  he  had  twa  Letteris  and  Euidents  concerning  the  Lands  of  Knockfelde, 
ane  with  a  Sele,  and  ane  vthir  with  mony  Selis,"  &c.    [Acta  Anditomm.] 

21.  JOHN  CRAWFUED  was  Abbot  in  1479.     As  Canon-Eegular  of  Dry- 
burgh, he  was  Incorporated  a  Member  of  the  University  of  Glasgow  on  the 
Morrow  of   S.  Martin,   1476.      [Annales    Universitatis   Glasguensis,  p.    51.] 
On  the.  6th  November,  1479,  he  pursued  an  Action  against  John  Dewar, 
for  the  "ranguiss  occupatioun  of  the  Kirklandes  of  Saltoun."    [Acta  Dom. 
Cone.] 

22.  Dean  DAVID  DEWAR,  a  Canon  of  Dryburgh,  and  Vicar  of  Mertoun, 
appears  to  have  claimed  to  be  Abbot  after  the  Death  of  Walter,  and  to  have 
exercised  some  of  the  Privileges  of  the  Office  of  Abbot,  by  granting  Tacks  of 
certain  Lands,  &c.,  belonging  to  the  Abbey.     Litigations  in  the  Civil  Court 
between  the  respective  Lessees  of  Abbot  John  Crawford  and  Dean  David 
Dewar,  the  competing  Claimant,  appear  on  record,  26th  June,  1480,  23rd 
March,  1481,  26th  March,  1482,  and  23rd  January,  1488. 

23.  ANDREW  LIDERDALE  was  Abbot  from  1489  till  1506.     He  Witnesses 
Deeds  during  these  Dates.    [CraufunVs  Cardross  Notes.] 

24.  JAMES  STEWART  (the  First)  was  probably  the  next  Abbot,  as  on  8th 
July,   1507,   a  Legitimation  was  passed  at   Glasgow  in  favour  of  James 
Stewart,  Sector  of  Ancrurn,  son  natural  of  the  deceased  Mr.  John  Stewart, 
"  to  qualifie  him  for  being  Abbot  of  Dryburgh."     No  evidence,  however,  has 
been  found  showing  that  he  actually  became  Abbot  in  consequence  of  this 
preparative  step. 

25.  DAVID  FINLAYSON,  1509.     He  was  a  Canon-Eegular  of  Dryburgh  in 
1489 ;  and  there  was  presented  to  King  James  an  "  Address  by  the  Convent 
of  Dryburgh,"  that  he  may  prefer  his  being  duly  Elected  Abbot  of  Dryburgh. 
He  before  was  Eector  of  Gullayn,  1509. 


WHITE  FKIARS— DKYBUKGH.  889 

There  is  no  sufficient  evidence,  however,  that  after  the  Death 
or  Demission  of  Abbot  Andrew  Liderdale,  Dryburgh  ever  had 
another  Abbot,  properly  so  called.  During  the  subsequent 
Century  that  the  Abbey  continued  to  exist  as  a  Religious  House, 
it  was  held  in  commendam.  Here  follows  a  List  of 

COMMEND ATOES    OF    DRYBURGH. 

1.  ANDREW  FOREMAN,  a  younger  son  of  the  Laird  of  Hatton,  Berwick- 
shire. His  brother,  Sir  John  Foreman  of  Dalveine,  Married  Helen  Kuther- 
ford,  one  of  the  two  co-heiresses  of  Eutherford  of  that  Ilk,  in  Teviotdale.  He 
was  a  man  of  great  note  and  consequence,  and  was  actively  concerned  in  the 
principal  affairs  of  both  Church  and  State  in  Scotland  in  the  Eeigns  of  James 
IV.  and  V.,  and  showed  considerable  talents  and  address  in  bringing  them  to 
a  successful  issue.  He  took  an  effectual  part  in  the  Negotiations  for  the 
Marriage  of  these  Princes  with  Margaret,  the  daughter  of  Henry  VII.,  in 
1501.  In  1512,  he  was  employed  in  an  Embassy  to  the  Court  of  France, 
and  was  chiefly  instrumental  in  concluding  a  Treaty  of  mutual  assistance, 
upon  the  footing  of  the  ancient  League,  between  the  French  and  Scots. 
[Ridpath.  Pitscottie.]  In  1498,  he  was  the  Pope's  Pronotary,  and  was  after- 
wards his  Legate  a  latere.  [Rotidi  Scotia.]  The  number  of  his  Ecclesiastical 
Benefices  is  remarkable.  The  Monks  of  the  Isle  of  May  acknowledged  him 
as  their  Prior  in  1498.  He  was  appointed  to  the  Bishopric  of  Moray  in 
1501 ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  held  the  Priories  of  Pittenweem  and  Colding- 
ham,  to  which  was  added,  before  1512,  the  Commendatorship  of  Dryburgh. 
Through  the  favour  of  Louis  XII.,  he  was  made  Archbishop  of  Bourges,  in 
France,  in  1513  [Gallia  Christiana,  torn.  ii.,  p.  94] ;  but  he  had  scarcely  done 
homage  for  this  Preferment,  when,  having  received  intelligence  that  the 
Archbishop  of  St.  Andrews  (Alexander  Stuart,  natural  son  of  King  James 
IV.)  had  fallen  in  the  Field  of  Flodden,  he  hastened  to  Kome,  to  solicit  the 
vacant  See.  Leo  X.,  out  of  his  affection,  as  he  professed,  for  the  Scottish 
Nation,  and  to  bind  closer  the  ties  of  kindness  between  him  and  them,  had 
already  given  the  See,  in  commendam,  to  his  nephew,  Cardinal  Cibo ;  but 
having  been  given  to  understand  that  it  was  repugnant  to  the  feelings  of  the 
Scots  that  the  highest  Ecclesiastical  Office  in  their  Land  should  be  held  by 
a  Foreigner,  he  cancelled  that  Appointment,  and  nominated  Foreman  to 
this  and  all  the  other  Benefices  enjoyed  by  the  late  Archbishop.  [Sandoleti, 
Epist.  Pont.,  xxxv.]  After  much  opposition  from  the  influence  of  rival 
Candidates,  one  of  whom  was  Gavin  Douglas,  the  Translator  of  Virgil's 
^Eneid,  he  was  Enthroned  in  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Andrews  in  1514,  when 
he  Kesigned  the  Sees  of  Moray  and  Bourges,  and  the  Priory  of  Coldingham. 
"When  the  Duke  of  Albany  came  from  France,  and  assumed  the  Kegency  in 
1516,  Foreman  resigned  into  his  hands,  as  the  Laws  of  Scotland  required, 
all  the  Benefices  which  he  had  hitherto  enjoyed  only  by  the  Pope's  Nomina- 
tion, and  was  re-appointed  only  to  the  See  of  St.  Andrews  and  the  Abbey  of 


840  MONASTICON. 

Dimfermline.     He  Died  at,  and  was  Buried  in,  the  latter  place  in  1522. 
[Morton's  Annals,  p.  298.] 

The  following  curious  Account  of  a  Banquet,  given  by  Foreman  to 
the  Pope  and  Cardinals,  occurs  in  "  Pitscottie's  History  of  Scotland,"  p. 
166  : — «  "When  the  dinner  came,  the  Pope  and  his  Cardinals  placed,  and  sat 
down  according  to  their  Estate,  then  the  use  and  custom  was  that,  at  the 
beginning  of  meat,  he  that  aught  the  house  and  made  the  banquet  should 
say  the  Grace  and  bless  the  meat.  And  so  they  required  the  holy  Bishop  to 
say  the  Grace,  who  was  not  a  good  Scholar,  and  had  not  good  Latin ;  but 
began  rudely  in  the  Scotch  fashion,  in  this  manner,  saying,  '  Benedicite ;' 
believing  that  they  should  have  answered  '  Dominus.'  But  they  answered 
'  Dans,'  in  the  Italian  fashion,  which  put  this  noble  Bishop  by  his  intendi- 
ment,  that  he  wist  not  how  to  proceed  forward ;  but  happened  out,  in  good 
Scotch,  in  this  manner,  the  which  they  understood  not,  saying,  '  To  the 
devil  I  give  you  all,  false  carles,  in  nomine  Patris,  Filii,  et  Spiritus  Sancti.' 
'Amen,'  quoth  they.  Then  the  Bishop  and  his  men  leugh.  And  the  Bishop 
shewed  the  Pope  the  manner — that  he  was  not  a  good  Clerk,  and  his  Car- 
dinals had  put  him  by  his  intendiment ;  and,  therefore,  he  gave  them  all  to 
the  Devil  in  good  Scotish ;  and  then  the  Pope  leugh  among  the  rest." 

Foreman  is  said  to  have  written — 1,  "Contra  Lutherum ;"  2,  "De 
Stoica  Philosophia ;"  3,  "  Collectanea  Decretalium." 

2.  JAMES  OGILVIE,   Sector  of  Kinkell,  a  son  of  Sir  James  Ogilvie  of 
Deskford,  in  Banffshire,  was  appointed  Abbot,  or  Commendator,  by  the 
Duke  of  Albany  in  1516.     This  Sir  James  was  of  the  Findlater  Family. 
He  Married  Lady  Agnes  Gordon,  daughter  of  George,  Earl  of  Huntly,  by 
whom  he  had  five   sons   and   two  daughters — 1.  Alexander,  his  Heir;  2. 
James,  Abbot  of  Dryburgh,  and  Eector  of  Kinkeldon.     He  was  the  first 
Professor  of  Civil  Law  in  King's  College,  Aberdeen,  and  was  Elected  Bishop ; 
but  the  Earl  of  Huntly  overawed  the  Canons,  and  forced  them  to  Elect 
Alexander  Gordon,  his  kinsman.     The  Duke  of  Albany,  to  console  Ogilvie 
and  his  friends,  gave  him  the  above-mentioned  Appointments.     He  was 
employed  on  several  Embassies  by  the  King  and  Parliament  of  Scotland,  in 
which  he   conducted  himself  satisfactorily   to   both.      His   second   sister 
Married  Lord  Lovat,  the  Laird  of  Macintosh,  and  Munro  of  Foulis,  and  had 
children  to  all  three  husbands.   His  eldest  sister  Married  Sir  James  Dunbar 
of  Westfield.     He  Died  at  Paris  on  the  30th  May,  1518,  and  was  Buried 
there  in  S.  Landrus'  Church. 

Sir  David  Erskine,  in  his  "  Annals  of  Dryburgh,"  p.  21,  states  that 
Andrew  Foreman  Eesigned  tke  Abbacy  in  favou